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FIRST  PRINCIPLES 

OF 

THE    REFORMATION 

OR 

THE   NINETY-FIVE   THESES   AND   THE 
THREE   PRIMARY   WORKS 

OF 

DR.  MARTIN  LUTHER 

TRANSLATED    INTO   ENGLISH 


WITH  THEOLOGICAL  AND  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTIONS 

By   HENRY   WACE  D.D. 

PREBENDARY    OF   ST.   PAUL'S     PREACHER  OF    LINCOLN'S   INN      PRINCIPAL  OF   KING'S    COLLEGE    LONDON 
CHAPLAIN    TO   THK    ARCHBISHOP   OF   CANTEKBURT 

AND 

C.   A.    BUCHHEIM    Ph.D. 

PROFESSOR    OF    THE   GERMAN    LANGUAGE    AND    LITERATURE    IN    KING'S   COLLEGE   LONDON 


WITH    A    PORTRAIT. 


PHILADELPHIA 
LUTHERAN    PUBLICATION    SOCIETY 

No.  42  NORTH  NINTH  STREET 

1885 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


The  purpose  and  plan  of  this  ^publication,  which  has  been 
prompted  by  the  celebration  of  the  fourth  centenary  of 
Luther's  birth,  is  explained  in  the  Introductory  Essay.  Here 
it  is  only  necessary  to  state  that,  of  the  works  of  Luther 
contained  in  it,  the  "  Address  to  the  Nobility  of  the  German 
Nation,"  which  was  written  in  German,  has  been  translated  by 
Professor  Buchheim,  from  the  text  given  in  the  Erlangen,  or 
Frankfort,  Edition.  The  translation  of  this  work  offered  very 
great  difficulties,  as  it  was  written  in  Luther's  earliest  German 
style,  before  the  language  had  been  improved,  and  ren- 
dered comparatively  definite,  by  his  translation  of  the  Bible. 
Dr.  Buchheim  has  endeavoured  to  make  it  as  literal  as  was 
compatible  with  the  genius  of  the  English  language,  and  with 
the  necessity  of  modifying,  now  and  then,  some  obscure  or 
obsolete  expression ;  and  he  has  offered  a  few  annotations. 
He  desires,  at  the  same  time,  to  express  his  great  obliga- 
tions to  Dr.  Wace,  who  carefully  compared  his  translation 
with  the  original  work,  and  whose  suggestions  have  been 
of  great  service  to  him.  The  Theses,  and  the  two  Treatises, 
"  On  Christian  Liberty,"  and  "  On  the  Babylonish  Captivity 
of  the  Church,"  have  been  translated  from  the  original  Latin 
Text,  as  given  in  the  Frankfort  Edition,  by  the  Rev.  R.  S. 
Grignon,  to  whose  generous  assistance  and  accurate  scholar- 
ship the  editors  feel  greatly  indebted. 


a  2 


AMERICAN  PREFACE. 


The  following  work,  by  special  arrangement  with  the  London 
publisher,  is  now  introduced  for  the  first  time  to  American  readers 
by  the  Lutheran  Board  of  Publication  exclusively.  It  has  been 
most  favorably  noticed  by  some  of  the  most  influential  and  dis- 
criminating English  Reviews.  The  authors  sustain  a  high  reputa- 
tion for  talent  and  learning,  and  have  devoted  their  combined 
strength  to  the  preparation  of  this  work. 

Although  the  last  two  or  three  years  have  been  prolific  in  the' 
production  of  books  on  the  Reformation,  yet  comparatively  few 
have  appeared  in  England,  and  among  them  this  one  stands  incom- 
parably at  the  head  of  the  list. 

On  page  xxxiii.  there  occurs  the  following  passage,  which,  whilst 
it  does  not  directly  charge  our  Church  with  holding  the  doctrine 
of  Consubstantiation,  yet  so  nearly  approximates  it,  that  it  has 
been  thought  expedient  to  furnish  readers  with  the  means  of 
refuting  the  accusation  if  they  should  ever  have  occasion  so  to  do. 
All  intelligent  Lutherans  know  it  is  false,  but  they  may  not 
always  have  at  hand  the  direct  means  of  refutation,  with  which 
they  are  here  furnished  for  their  use.  The  sentence  alluded  to 
is  this : 

"It  may  be  worth  while  to  observe,  in  passing,  the  position 
which  Luther  assumes  towards  the  doctrine  of  Transubstantiation. 
What  he  is  concerned  to  maintain  is,  that  there  is  a  real  Presence 
in  the  Sacrament.  All  he  is  concerned  to  deny  is  that  Transub- 
stantiation is  the  necessary  explanation  of  that  Presence.  In 
other  words,  it  is  not  necessary  to  believe  in  Transubstantiation 
in  order  to  believe  in  the  Real  Presence.  There  seems  a  clear' 
distinction  between  this  view  and  the  formal  doctrine  of  Consub- 
stantiation as  afterivards  elaborated  by  Lutheran  divines;  and 
Luther's  caution,  at  least  in  this  Treatise,  in  dealing  with  so  diffi- 
cult a  point,  is  eminently  characteristic  of  the  real  moderation 
with  which  he  formed  his  views,  as!  distinguished  from  the  energy 
with  which  he  asserted  them." 

(i) 


n  American  preface. 

I  said  that  the  charge  that  our  Church  believes  in  Consubstan- 
tiation  is  not  here  directly  made,  and  herein  the  writers  show 
their  cautious  discrimination ;  but  still  many  readers  will  regard  it 
as  equivalent  to  a  charge,  and  I  here  furnish  them  with  proofs 
drawn  from  some  of  our  theologians,  refuting  it  most  emphatic- 
ally ;  and  this  should  settle  the  question.  A  much  larger  number 
of  authorities  might  be  quoted,  but  surely  these  are  sufficient  to 
satisfy  every  honest  inquirer. 

It  seems  strange  to  us  that  some  learned  men,  who  ought  to 
know  better,  will  still  persist  in  repeating  the  unfounded  accusa- 
tion, as  has  recently  been  done  by  an  eminent  church  historian  of 
Our  own  country. 

The  precise  meaning  of  the  word  Consubstantiation  will  be 
more  fully  understood  from  the  following  extracts  than  from  any 
unconnected  definition. 

EXTRACTS  FROM  LUTHERAN  DIVINES  DENYING  CONSUBSTANTIATION. 

TnE  Wittenberg  Concord  (1536),  prepared  and  signed  by 
Luther  and  the  other  great  leaders  in  the  Church,  says :  "  We 
deny  the  doctrine  of  Transubstantiation,  as  we  also  deny  that  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ  are  locally  included  in  the  bread" 

The  Formula  of  Concord  (Muller's  ed.,  pp.  543,  547),  says: 
"We  utterly  deny  and  condemn  the  doctrine  of  a  Capernaitish 
eating  of  the  body  of  Christ,  which,  after  so  many  protestations 
on  our  part,  is  maliciously  imputed  to  us." 

Baier,  J.  G.  (1695),  in  his  Theolog.  Positiv.,  1750,  p.  661, 
says  :  "  The  Sacramental  Union  is  neither  substantial,  nor  per- 
sonal, nor  local.  Hence  it  is  manifest  that  Impanation  and 
Consubstantiation,  which  are  charged  upon  Lutherans  by  ene- 
mies, are  utterly  excluded." 

Baier  published  a  distinct  treatise,  which  is  entirely  devoted  to 
the  defence  of  our  Church  against  the  charge  of  holding  this  doc- 
trine. 

Hafenreffer  (1609),  in  his  Loci  Theolog.,  says:  "The 
Sacramental  Union  is  not  (1)  a  Transubstantiation  of  the  bread 
into  the  body  of  Christ.  *  *  (2)  It  is  not  a  Consubstantia- 
tion or  commixture  of  the  substances :  but  in  both  the  bread  and 


AMERICAN  PREFACE.  iii 

wine,  the  substance  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  remains  un- 
mixed." 

Calovius,  System.  Loci  Theolog.  (1655-77)  :  "  We  do  not 
assert  any  local  conjunction,  any  fusion  of  essences,  or  Consub- 
stantiation, as  our  adversaries  attribute  to  us." 

Hutter  (1611),  Libri  Christ.  Concord,  Wittenberg,  1609,  p. 
669 :  "  Hence  is  clear  the  odious  falsity  of  those  who  charge  our 
churches  with  teaching  that  the  bread  of  the  Eucharist  is  literally 
and  substantially  the  body  of  Christ ;  '  that  the  bread  arid  body 
constitute  one  substance,'  etc." 

Joiin  Gerhard  (1637).  Loci,  x.  165.  "  On  account  of  the 
calumnies  of  our  adversaries,  we  would  note  that  we  do  not  be- 
lieve in  Impanation,  nor  in  Consubstantiation,  nor  in  any  physi- 
cal or  local  presence." 

Carpzov  (1657).  Isagoge,  345.  "When  the  words  in, 
with,  under,  are  used,  our  traducers  know,  .  .  .  that  they  do 
not  signify  a  Con  substantiation,  local  co-existence,  or  Impanation. 
The  charge  that  we  hold  a  local  inclusion  or  Con  substantiation  is 
a  calumny." 

Mus.eus  (1681).  De  Sacra.  Coena.  1664,  p.  85.  "When 
Calvinists  attribute  this  view  {Con substantiation)  to  us,  they  are 
guilty  of  calumny." 

Buddeus  (1728).  Miscellanea  II.,  86  seq.  "All  who  un« 
derstand  the  doctrines  of  our  Church  know  that  with  our  whole 

soul    we  abhor   the   doctrine   of   Con  substantiation In 

either  sense,  in  which  the  word  Consubstantiation  can  be  taken, 
the  doctrine  cannot,  in  any  respect,  be  attributed  to  our  Church ; 
it  was  always  far  from  the  mind  of  the  Church^ 

Cotta  (1779).  In  Gerhard's  Loci,  x.  165.  "  As  our  theo- 
logians reject  Impanation,  so  also  they  reject  the  doctrine  of 
Consubstantiation But  in  neither  sense  can  that  mon- 
strous dogma  of  Consubstantiation  be  attributed  to  our  Church." 

Mosheim  denies  the  charge,  and  the  more  modern  Reinhard 
says  :  "  Our  Church  has  never  taught  that  the  emblems  become 
one  substance  with  the  body  and  blood  of  Jesus,  an  opinion  com- 
monly denominated  Consubstantiation, " 

We  might  multiply  testimonies  of  a  similar  kind  from  nearly 


iv  AMERICAN  PREFACE. 

every  one  of  our  eminent  theologians  who  have  written  on  the 
Lord's  Supper.  Even  Calvinistic  divines,  such  as  Bucer,  Mus- 
culus,  Salmasius,  Stapfer,  Waterland,  D'Aubigne,  and  others, 
declare  that  the  charge  is  groundless.* 

Those  who  desire  to  push  their  researches  into  this  subject 
more  extensively  are  referred  to  Krauth's  Conservative  Reforma- 
tion,  to  which  I  am  indebted  for  most  of  these  citations. 

March,  1885.  J.  G.  M. 


*The  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  employs  the  term  "Sacramental  Pres- 
ence" to  designate  her  doctrine  of  the  real  presence  ot  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ  in  and  with  the  elements  of  bread  and  wine  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  because 
that  presence  is  .peculiar  to  the  Sacrament,  and  because  by  that  term  she  does 
not  attempt  nor  intend  to  d  dine,  th  s  mil  •  of  Christ's  bodily  pres  shoe. 

The  conception  of  the  Roman  Church,  in  regard  to  the  bodily  presence  of 
Christ  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  is  that  there  is  a  Transubstantiation,  or  change  of 
the  substances  ol  the  bread  and  wine  into  the  substances  of  the  body  and  blood 
of  Christ :  so  that  what  is  seen  in  the  consecrated  host,  is  not  the  substances  of 
bread  and  wine,  but  only  their  accidents  or  properties. 

The  conception  which  some  in  the  Reformed  Churches  (Calvinists  and  Zwing- 
Iians)  have  of  the  Lutheran  doctrine,  and  which  they  erroneously  attribute  to 
the  Lutheran  Church,  is  that  there  is  a  Oonsubstantiation,  or  mingling  of  the 
substances  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  with  the  substances  of  the  bread 
and  wine  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  like  a  mixing  of  yeast  with  hour  and  honey  with 
water;  or.. as  others  conceive  Of  the  real  presence.it  is  an  Impanation,  t.  «.,  a 
local  inclusion  of  the  body  of  Christ,  like  placing  a  stone  in  a  loaf  of  bread.  The 
Lutheran  Church  rejects  these  terms,  and  does  not  define  the  mode  of  Christ's 
presence  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  because  the  mode  is  not  defined  in  Scripture,  and 
is  incomprehensible.  Nevertheless,  she  believes,  confesses  and  teaches  that 
there  is  a  true  and  real  presence  of  the  glorified  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  in 
and  with  the  Sacramental  elements  of  bread  and  wine,  as  the  words  of  institu- 
tion by  Christ  in  the  synoptical  gospels  affirm,  "This  is  my  body,"  "This  is  my 
blood."  and  reiterated  by  the  Apostle.  1  Cor.  x.  1(5  and  xi.  24. 

The  reader's  attention  is  also  called  to  the  following  remarks  from  Dr. 
Krauth's  "  Conservative  Reformation,"  p.  5-10-1,  in  reference  to  a  statement  in 
the  present  translation  of  Luther's  work  on  the  Babylonish  Captivity,  p.  192, 
in  which  there  seems  to  be  a  preference  for  immersion  as  a  mode  of  Baptism  : 

"In  this  book  on  the  Babylonish  Captivity,  which  appeared  in  1520,  he  ex- 
pressly adds:  'Not  that  I  think  it  (immersion)  necessary,'  ('iVon.  quod  neces- 
xttritnit  urbitrcr.')  But  this  claim  of  necessity,  and  this  only,  is  the  very  heart  of 
the  baptist  doctrine.  The  strongest  expressions  in  favor  of  immersion  occur  in 
Luther's  earliest  works,  and  his  maturer  preference,  as  expressed  in  later 
works,  seems  to  have  been  no  less  decided  for  pouring  as  an  appropriate  mode. 
Thus  in  his  Commentary  on  Genesis,  one  of  Ins  latest  and  ripest  works,  he  says  : 
'The  water  which  is  poured  (quae  funditur)  in  Baptism  is  not  the  water  given 
by  God  as  the  Creator,  but  given  by  Cod  the  Saviour."'    Chap,  xxviii. 

."  Again,"  says  Dr.  Krauth,  "we  can  give  ample  proof  that  ii  Luther's  mean- 
ing in  1519  implies  the  necessity  of  immersion,  his  opinion  had  undergone  a 
total  change  before  1529,  when  the  Larger  Catechism,  whose  words  are  in 
question,  was  published."    Cons,  lief.,  p.  537. 


CONTENTS. 


THEOLOGICAL  INTRODUCTION.     By  De.  Wace  .         .  ix 

HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.    By  Professor  Buchheim        .  xxxix 

THE  NINETY-FIVE  THESES 2 

THE  THREE  PRIMARY  WORKS  OF  LUTHER:— 

I.  ADDRESS     TO     THE    NOBILITY     OF     THE     GERMAN 
NATION. 

1.  Dedicatory  Letter       .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .17 

2.  Introduction          .........  18 

3.  The  Three  Walls  of  the  Romanists     .....  20 

(a)  That  the   Temporal  Power  has  no  Jurisdiction  over 

the  Spiritualty  .         .         .         .         .         .  21 

(b)  That  no  one  may  interpret  the  Scriptures  but  the 

Pope 25 

(c)  That  no  one  may  call  a  Council  but  the  Pope  .         .  28 

4.  Of  the  Matters  to  be  considered  in  the  Councils       .         .  31 

5.  Twenty-seven  Articles  respecting  the  Reformation  of  the 

Christian  Estate        ........  44 

II.  CONCERNING   CHRISTIAN   LIBERTY. 

1.  Letter  to  Pope  Leo  X.        .......  95 

2.  That  a  Christian  man  is  the  most  free  Lord  of  all,  and 

subject  to  none         .....          ...  104 

3.  That  a  Christian  man  is  the  most  dutiful  Servant  of  all, 

and  subject  to  every  one.         ......  118 

III.  ON  THE  BABYLONISH  CAPTIVITY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

1.  Introduction          .........  141 

2.  On  the  Lord's  Supper  ........  148 

3.  On  Baptism  ..........  182 

4.  On  Penance  ..........  205 

5.  On  Confirmation  .         .  ,         .         .         .         .         .         .214 

6.  On  Matrimony      .........  215 

7.  On  Orders 227 

8.  On  Extreme  Unction    ........  237 


INTRODUCTORY  ESSAYS 


I 
ON   THE  PRIMARY  PRINCIPLES 

OF 

LUTHEK'S  LIFE  AND  TEACHING 

By  Dr.  WACE 


l)N  THE  PRIMARY  PRINCIPLES  OF  LUTHER'S 
LIFE  AND  TEACHING 


The  present  publication  is  offered  as  a  contribution  to  the  due 
celebration  in  this  country  of  the  fourth  Centenary  of  Luther's 
birth.  Much  has  been  written  about  him,  and  the  general 
history  of  his  life  and  work  is  being  sketched  by  able  pens. 
But  no  adequate  attempt  has  yet  been  made  to  let  him  speak 
for  himself  to  Englishmen  by  his  greatest  and  most  character- 
istic writings.  The  three  works  which,  together  with  the  95 
Theses,  are  included  in  this  volume,  are  well  known  in  Germany 
as  the  Drei  Grosse  Reformations- Schr  if  ten,  or  "  The  Three 
Great  Eeformation  Treatises  "  of  Luther  ;  but  they  seem  never 
yet  to  have  been  brought  in  this  character  before  the  English 
public.  The  Treatise  on  Christian  Liberty  has  indeed  been 
previously  translated,  though  not  of  late  years.  But  from  an 
examination  of  the  catalogue  in  the  British  Museum,  it  would 
appear  that  no  English  translation  is  accessible,  even  if  any 
has  yet  been  published,  of  the  Address  to  the  German  Nobility 
or  of  the  Treatise  on  the  Babylonish  Captivity  of  the  Church. 
Yet,  as  is  well  understood  in  Germany,  it  is  in  these  that  the 
whole  genius  of  the  Keformer  appears  in  its  most  complete  and 
energetic  form.  They  are  bound  together  in  the  closest 
dramatic  unity.  They  were  all  three  produced  in  the  latter 
half  of  the  critical  year  1520,  when  nearly  three  years' 
controversy,  since  the  publication  of  the  Theses,  on  Oct.  31 
1517,  had  convinced  Luther  of  the  falseness  of  the  Court 
of   Kome,  and    the  hollowness  of  its   claims ;  and  they  were 


x  LUTHER'S 

immediately  followed  by  the  bull  of  excommunication  in 
the  winter  of  the  same  year,  and  the  summons  to  the  Diet  of 
Worms  in  1521.  Luther  felt,  as  he  says  at  the  commencement 
of  his  Address  to  the  German  Nobility,  that  "  the  time  for  silence 
had  passed,  and  the  time  for  speech  had  come."  He  evidently 
apprehended  that  reconciliation  between  himself  and  the  Court 
of  Borne  was  impossible ;  and  he  appears  to  have  made  up  his 
mind  to  clear  his  conscience,  whatever  the  cost.  Accordingly  in 
these  three  works  he  spoke  out  with  a  full  heart,  and  with  the 
consciousness  that  his  life  was  in  his  hand,  the  convictions 
which  had  been  forced  on  him  by  the  conduct  of  the  Papacy 
and  of  the  Papal  theologians. 

Those  convictions  had  been  slowly,  and  even  reluctantly, 
admitted ;  but  they  had  gradually  accumulated  in  intense 
force  in  Luther's  mind  and  conscience ;  and  when  "  the 
time  for  speech  had  come "  they  burst  forth  in  a  kind  of 
volcanic  eruption.  Their  maturity  is  proved  by  the  com- 
pleteness and  thoroughness  with  which  the  questions  at  issue 
are  treated.  An  insight  into  the  deepest  theological  prin- 
ciples is  combined  with  the  keenest  apprehension  of  practical 
details.  In  the  Treatise  on  Christian  Liberty  we  have  the  most 
vivid  of  all  embodiments  of  that  life  of  Faith  to  which  the 
Keformer  recalled  the  Church  and  which  was  the  mainspring 
of  the  Keformation.  In  the  Appeal  to  the  German  Nobility 
he  first  asserted  those  rights  of  the  laity,  and  of  the  temporal 
power,  without  the  admission  of  which  no  reformation  would  have 
been  practicable,  and  he  then  denounced  with  burning  moral 
indignation  the  numerous  and  intolerable  abuses  which  were  up- 
held by  Eoman  authority.  In  the  third  Treatise,  on  the  Baby- 
lonish Captivity  of  the  Church,  he  applied  the  same  cardinal 
principles  to  the  elaborate  Sacramental  system  of  the  Church 
of  Borne,  sweeping  away  by  means  of  them  the  superstitions 
with  which  the  original  institutions  of  Christ  had  been  overlaid, 
and  thus  releasing  men's  consciences  from  a  vast  network  of 
ceremonial  bondage.     The  rest  of  the  Beformation,  it  is  not  too 


FIRST    PRINCIPLES  xi 

much  to  say,  was  but  the  application  of  the  principles  vindicated 
in  these  three  works.  They  were  applied  in  different  countries 
with  varying  wisdom  and  moderation ;  but  nothing  essential 
was  added  to  them.  Luther's  genius — if  a  higher  word  be  not 
justifiable — brought  forth  at  one  birth,  "  with  hands  and  feet," 
to  use  his  own  image,  and  in  full  energy,  the  vital  ideas  by 
which  Europe  was  to  be  regenerated.  He  was  no  mere 
negative  controversialist,  attacking  particular  errors  in  detail. 
His  characteristic  was  the  masculine  grasp  with  which  he 
seized  essential  and  eternal  truths,  and  by  their  central  light 
dispersed  the  darkness  in  which  men  were  groping. 

It  occurred  therefore  to  my  colleague  and  myself  that  a  per- 
manent service  might  perhaps  be  rendered  to  Luther's  name, 
and  towards  a  due  appreciation  of  the  principles  of  the  Eeforma- 
tion,  if  these  short  but  pregnant  Treatises  were  made  more  ac- 
cessible to  the  English  public ;  and  although  they  might  well 
be  left  to  speak  for  themselves,  there  may  perhaps  be  some 
readers  to  whom  a  few  explanatory  observations  on  Luther's 
position,  theologically  and  politically,  will  not  be  unacceptable. 
My  colleague,  in  the  Essay  which  follows  this,  has  dealt  with 
the  political  course  of  the  Eeformation  during  his  career ;  and 
in  the  present  remarks  an  endeavour  will  simply  be  made  to 
indicate  the  nature  and  the  bearings  of  the  central  principles 
of  the  Eeformer's  life  and  work,  as  exhibited  in  the  accompany- 
ing translations. 

It  is  by  no  mere  accident  of  controversy  that  the  Ninty-five 
Theses  mark  the  starting-point  of  Luther's  career  as  a  reformer. 
The  subject  with  which  they  dealt  was  not  only  in  close  connec- 
tion with  the  centre  of  Christian  truth,  but  it  touched  the 
characteristic  thought  of  the  Middle  Ages.  From  the  beginning 
to  the  end,  those  ages  had  been  a  stern  school  of  moral  and 
religious  discipline,  under  what  was  universally  regarded  as  the 
divine  authority  of  the  Church.  St.  Anselm,  with  his  intense 
apprehension  of  the  divine  righteousness,  and  of  its  inexorable 
demands,  is  at  once  the  noblest  and  truest  type  of  the  great  school 
of  thought  of  which  he  was  the  founder.    The  special  mission  of 


xii  LUTHER'S 

the  Church  since  the  days  of  Gregory  the  Great  had  been  to 
tame  the  fierce  energies  of  the  new  barbarian  world,  and  to 
bring  the  wild  passions  of  the  Teutonic  races  under  the  control 
of  the  Christian  law.     It  was  the  task  to  which  the  necessities 
of  the  hour  seemed  to  summon  the  Church,  and  she  roused 
herself  to  the  effort  with  magnificent  devotion.     Monks  and 
Schoolmen  performed  prodigies  of  self-denial  and  self-sacrifice, 
in  order  to  realise   in    themselves,  and  to  impose  as   far  as 
possible  on  the  world  at  large,  the  laws  of  perfection  which 
the  Church  held  before  their  vision.     The  glorious  cathedrals 
which  arose  in  the  best  period  of  the  Middle  Ages  are  but  the 
visible  types  of  those  splendid  structures  of  ideal  virtues,  which 
a   monk  like  St.  Bernard,   or   a  Schoolman  like  St.    Thomas 
Aquinas,  piled  up  by  laborious  thought  and  painful  asceticism. 
Such  men  felt  themselves  at  all  times  surrounded  by  a  spiritual 
world,  at  once  more  glorious  in  its  beauty  and  more  awful  in 
its  terrors,  than  either  the  pleasures  or  the  miseries  of  this 
world   could   adequately    represent.     The  great   poet   of  the 
Middle  Ages  affords  perhaps  the  most  vivid  representation  of 
their  character  in  this  respect.     The  horrible  images  of  the 
Inferno,  the  keen  sufferings  of  purification  in  the  Purgatorio, 
form  the  terrible  foreground  behind  which  the  Paradiso  rises. 
Those  visions  of  terror  and  dread  and  suffering  had  stamped 
themselves  on  the  imagination  of  the  medieval  world,  and  lay  at 
the  root  of  the  power  with  which  the  Church  overshadowed  it. 
In  their  origin  they  embodied  a  profound  and  noble  truth.     It 
was  a  high  and  divine  conception  that  the  moral  and  spiritual 
world  with  which  we  are  encompassed  has  greater  heights  and 
lower  depths  than  are  generally  apprehended  in  the  visible  expe- 
rience of  this  life  ;  and  Dante  has  been  felt  to  be  in  an  unique 
degree  the  poet  of  righteousness.     But  it  is  evident,  at  the  same 
time,  what  a  terrible  temptation  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  a 
hierarchy  who  were  believed,  in  whatever  degree,  to  wield  power 
over  these  spiritual  realities.     It  was  too  easy  to  apply  them, 
like  the  instruments  of  physical  torture  with  which  the  age  was 
familiar,  to  extort  submission  from  tender  consciences,  or  to 


FIRST    PRINCIPLES  xiii 

make  a  bargain  with  selfish  hearts.  But  in  substance  the 
menaces  of  the  Church  appealed  to  deep  convictions  of  the  human 
conscience,  and  the  mass  of  men  were  not  prepared  to  defy  them. 
Now  it  was  into  this  world  of  spiritual  terrors  that  Luther 
was  born,  and  he  was  in  an  eminent  degree  the  legitimate 
child  of  the  Middle  Ages.  The  turning-point  in  his  history  is 
that  the  awful  visions  of  which  we  have  spoken,  the  dread  of 
the  Divine  judgments,  brought  home  to  him  by  one  of  the 
solemn  accidents  of  life,  checked  him  in  a  career  which  promised 
all  worldly  prosperity,  and  drove  him  into  a  monastery.  There, 
as  he  tells  us,  he  was  driven  almost  frantic  by  his  vivid  realiza- 
tion of  the  demands  of  the  Divine  righteousness  on  the  one 
hand,  and  of  his  own  incapacity  to  satisfy  them  on  the  other. 
With  the  intense  reality  characteristic  of  his  nature  he  took 
in  desperate  earnest  all  that  the  traditional  teaching  and 
example  of  the  Middle  Ages  had  taught  him  of  the  unbending 
necessities  of  Divine  justice.  But  for  the  very  reason  that 
he  accepted  those  necessities  with  such  earnestness,  he  did  but 
realize  the  more  completely  the  hopelessness  of  his  struggles 
to  bring  himself  into  conformity  with  them.  It  was  not; 
because  he  was  out  of  sympathy  with  St.  Anselm  or  St.  Bernard 
or  Dante,  that  he  burst  the  bonds  of  the  system  they  represented  ; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  because  he  entered  even  more  deeply  than 
they  into  the  very  truths  they  asserted.  Nothing  was  more 
certain  to  him  than  that  Divine  justice  is  inexorable  ;  no  con- 
viction was  more  deeply  fixed  in  his  heart  than  that  righteous- 
ness is  the  supreme  law  of  human  life.  But  the  more  he  realized 
the  truth,  the  more  terrible  he  found  it,  for  it  seemed  to  shut 
him  up  in  a  cruel  prison,  against  the  bars  of  which  he  beat 
himself  in  vain.  In  one  of  his  most  characteristic  passages,  in 
the  Introduction  to  his  Latin  Works,  he  describes  how  he  was 
repelled  and  appalled  by  the  statement  of  St.  Paul  respecting 
the  Gospel,  that  '  therein  is  the  righteousness,  or  justice,  of  God 
revealed.'  For,  he  says,  'however  irreprehensible  a  life  I  had 
lived  as  a  monk,  I  felt  myself  before  God  a  sinner,  with  a  most 
restless  conscience,  and  I  could  not  be  confident  that  He  was 


xiv  LUTHER  S 

appeased  by  my  satisfaction.  I  could  not,  therefore,  love — nay,  I 
hated — a  God  who  was  just  and  punished  sinners  ;  and  if  not  with 
silent  blasphemy,  certainly  with  vehement  murmuring,  I  was 
indignant  against  God.  As  if,  I  said,  it  were  not  enough  that 
sinners,' miserable  and  eternally  ruined  by  original  sin,  should  be 
crushed  with  all  kind  of  calamity  by  the  law  of  the  Decalogue,  but 
God  by  the  Gospel  must  needs  add  grief  to  grief,  and  by  the 
Gospel  itself  must  inflict  still  further  on  us  His  justice  and  anger. 
I  raged  with  this  savage  and  disturbed  conscience,  and  I  knocked 
importunately  at  Paul  in  that  place,  with  burning  thirst  to  know 
what  St.  Paul  could  mean.'  Such  an  experience  is  not  a  mere 
revolt  against  the  Middle  Ages.  In  great  measure  it  is  but  the 
full  realization  of  their  truest  teaching.  It  is  Dante  intensified, 
and  carried  to  the  inevitable  development  of  his  principles. 

But  if  this  be  the  case,  what  it  meant  was  that  the  Middle 
Ages  had  brought  men  to  a  deadlock.  They  had  led  men  up 
to  a  gate  so  strait  that  no  human  soul  could  pass  through  it. 
In  the  struggle,  men  had  devised  the  most  elaborate  forms  of 
self-  torture,  and  had  made  the  most  heroic  sacrifices,  and  in  the 
very  desperation  of  their  efforts  they  had  anticipated  the  more 
vivid  insight  and  experience  of  Luther.  The  effort,  in  fact, 
had  been  too  much  for  human  nature,  and  the  end  of  it  had 
been  that  the  Church  had  condescended  to  human  weakness. 
The  most  obvious  and  easy  way  out  of  the  difficulty  was  to 
modify,  by  virtue  of  some  dispensing  authority,  the  extreme 
requirements  of  Divine  justice,  and  by  a  variety  of  half-uncon- 
scious, half-acknowledged  devices,  to  lessen  the  severity  of  the 
strait  gate  and  of  the  narrow  way.  Such  a  power,  as  has  been 
said,  was  an  enormous  temptation  to  unscrupulous  Churchmen, 
and  at  length  it  led  to  the  hideous  abuses  of  such  preaching 
of  indulgences  as  that  of  Tetzel.  In  this  form  the  matter 
came  before  Luther  in  his  office  as  parish  priest  and  confessor ; 
and  it  will  be  apparent  from  the  Theses  that  what  first  revolts 
him  is  the  violation  involved  of  the  deepest  principles  which  the 
Church  of  his  day  had  taught  him.  He  had  learned  from  it 
the  inexorable  character  of  the  Divine  law,  the  necessity  and 


FIRST   PRINCIPLES  xv 

blessedness  of  the  Divine  discipline  of  punishment  and  suffering ; 
he  had  learned,  as  his  first  Thesis  declares,  that  the  law  of 
Christian  life  is  that  of  lifelong  penitence  ;  and  he  denounced 
Tetzel's  teaching  as  false  to  the  Church  herself,  in  full 
confidence  that  he  would  be  supported  by  his  ecclesiastical 
superiors.  When  he  found  that  he  was  not — when,  to  his 
surprise  and  consternation,  he  found  that  the  Papal  theologians 
of  the  day,  under  the  direct  patronage  of  the  Pope  and  the 
bishops,  were  ready  to  support  the  most  flagrant  evasions  of 
the  very  principles  on  which  their  power  had  originally  been 
based — then  at  length,  though  most  reluctantly,  he  turned 
against  them,  and  directed  against  the  corrupted  Church  of  the 
close  of  the  Middle  Ages  the  very  principles  he  had  learned 
from  its  best  representatives  and  from  its  noblest  institutions. 
Luther,  in  the  course  of  his  spiritual  struggles,  had  found 
the  true  deliverance  from  what  we  have  ventured  to  call  that 
deadlock  to  which  the  grand  vision  of  Divine  righteousness 
had  led  him.  He  realised  that  the  strait  gate  was  impassable 
by  any  human  virtue ;  but  he  had  found  the  solution  in  the 
promise  of  a  supernatural  deliverance  which  was  offered  to 
faith.  To  quote  again  his  words  in  the  preface  to  his  Latin 
works  already  referred  to  :  'At  length  by  the  mercy  of  God, 
meditating  days  and  nights,  I  observed  the  connection  of  the 
words  namely  "  therein  is  the  righteousness  of  God  revealed 
from  faith  o  faith,  as  it  is  written  :  The  just  shall  live  by 
faith."  Th>  I  began  to  understand  the  justice  of  God  to  be 
tnat  by  whic.i  the  just  man  lives  by  the  gift  of  God,  namely, 
by  faith,  and.  that  the  meaning  was  that  the  Gospel  reveals 
that  justice  of  God  by  which  He  justifies  us  beggars  through 
faith,  as  it  is  written  :  "  The  just  shall  live  by  faith."  Here  I 
felt  myself  a  solutely  born  again ;  the  gates  of  heaven  were 
opened,  and  1  lad  entered  paradise  itself.  From  thenceforward 
the  face  of  tin  whole  Scriptures  appeared  changed  to  me.  I  ran 
through  the  criptures,  as  my  memory  would  serve  me,  and 
observed  the  same  analogy  in  other  words — as,  the  work  of 
God,  that  is,  I  he  work  which  God  works  in  us ;  the  strength 


xvi  LUTHER  S 

of  God,  that  with  which  He  makes  us  strong ;  the  wisdom 
of  God,  that  with  which  He  makes  us  wise;  the  power  of  God, 
the  salvation  of  God,  the  glory  of  God.  And  now,  as  much  as  I 
had  formerly  hated  that  word,  the  Justice  of  God,  so  much  did 
I  now  love  it  and  extol  it  as  the  sweetest  of  words  to  me :  and 
thus  that  place  in  Paul  was  to  me  truly  the  gate  of  paradise.' 
In  other  words,  Luther  had  realised  that  the  Gospel,  while  re- 
asserting the  inexorable  nature  of  the  moral  law,  and  deepening 
its  demands,  had  revealed  a  supernatural  and  divine  means  of 
satisfying  and  fulfilling  it.  All  barriers  had  thus  been  removed 
between  God  and  man,  and  men  had  been  placed  in  the  position 
of  children  living  by  Faith  on  His  grace  and  bounty.  He  offers 
to  bestow  upon  them  the  very  righteousness  He  requires  from  them, 
if  they  will  but  accept  it  at  His  hands  as  a  free  gift.  Their 
true  position  is  no  longer  that  of  mere  subjects  living  under  a 
law  which  they  must  obey  at  their  peril.  They  may,  indeed,  by 
their  own  act  remain  in  that  condition,  with  all  its  terrible 
consequences.  But  God  invites  them  to  regard  Him  as  their 
Father,  to  live  in  the  light  of  His  countenance,  and  to  receive 
from  Him  the  daily  food  of  their  souls.  The  most  intimate 
personal  relation  is  thus  established  between  Himself  and  them  ; 
and  the  righteousness  which  they  could  never  acquire  by  their 
own  efforts  He  is  ready  to  create  in  them  if  they  will  but  live  with 
Him  in  faith  and  trust.  That  faith,  indeed,  must  needs  be  the 
beginning,  and  the  most  essential  condition,  of  this  Divine  life. 
Faith  is  the  first  condition  of  all  fellowship  between  persons ; 
and  if  a  man  is  to  live  in  personal  fellowship  with  God,  he  must 
trust  Him  absolutely,  believe  His  promises,  and  rest  his  whole 
existence,  here  and  hereafter,  upon  His  word.  But  tat  a  man  do 
this,  and  then  God's  law  ceases  to  be  like  a  flaming  sword,  turning 
every  way,  with  too  fierce  an  edge  for  human  hearts  to  bear.  It 
assumes  the  benignant  glow  of  a  revelation  of  perfect  righteous- 
ness which  God  Himself  will  bestow  on  all  who  ask  it  at  His  hands. 
This  belief  is  essentially  bound  up  with  a  distinction  on 
which  great  stress  is  laid  in  the  Theses.  It  touches  a  point  at 
once  of  the  highest  theological  import,  and  of   the   simplest 


FIRST   PRINCIPLES  xvii 

practical  experience.  This  is  the  distinction  between  guilt  and 
punishment ;  or,  in  other  words,  between  personal  forgiveness, 
and  the  remission  of  the  consequences  of  sins.  In  our  mutual 
relations,  a  son  may  be  forgiven  by  his  father,  a  wrongdoer  by 
the  person  whom  he  has  injured,  and  yet  it  may  neither  be 
possible  nor  desirable  that  the  offender  should  be  at  once 
released  from  the  consequences  of  his  offence.  But  for  all 
generous  hearts,  the  personal  forgiveness  is  infinitely  more 
precious  than  the  remission  of  the  penalty,  and  Luther  had 
learned  from  the  Scriptures  to  regard  our  relation  to  God  in  a 
similar  light.  He  realized  that  he  must  live,  here  and  hereafter, 
in  personal  relationship  to  God ;  and  the  forgiveness  of  God,  the 
removal  from  him,  in  God's  sight,  of  the  imputation  and  the 
brand  of  guilt,  his  reception  into  God's  unclouded  favour — this 
was  the  supreme  necessity  of  his  spiritual  existence.  If  this 
were  assured  to  him,  not  only  had  he  no  fear  of  punishment,  but 
he  could  welcome  it,  whatever  its  severity,  as  part  of  the 
discipline  of  the  divine  and  loving  hand  to  which  he  had  trusted 
himself.  His  deepest  indignation,  consequently,  was  aroused  by 
preaching  which,  under  official  sanction,  urged  men  to  buy  in- 
dulgence from  punishment,  of  whatever  kind,  as  practically  the 
greatest  spiritual  benefit  they  could  obtain ;  and  he  devoted  his 
whole  energy  to  assert  the  supreme  blessing  of  that  remission 
from  guilt,  of  which  the  preachers  of  indulgences  said  practi- 
cally nothing.  It  is  this  remission  of  guilt,  this  personal 
forgiveness,  which  is  the  essential  element  in  the  justification 
of  which  he  spoke.  It  involves  of  course  salvation  from  the 
final  ruin  and  doom  which  sin,  and  the  moral  corruption  of  our 
nature,  would  naturally  entail  ;  but  its  chief  virtue  does  not 
consist  in  deliverance  from  punishment,  nor  does  it  in  any  way 
derogate  from  the  truth  that  "  we  must  all  appear  before  the 
judgment  seat  of  Christ,  that  every  one  may  receive  the  things 
done  in  his  body,  according  to  that  he  hath  done,  whether  it  be 
good  or  bad."  What  it  taught  men  was  to  accept  all  God's 
judgments  and  discipline  in  perfect  peace  of  soul,  as  being 
assured  of  His  love  and  favour. 

b 


xviii  LUTHER  S 

No  divine,  in  fact,  has  ever  dwelt  with  more  intense  con- 
viction on  the  blessedness  of  the  discipline  of  suffering  and 
of  the  Cross.  The  closing  Theses  express  his  deepest  feelings 
in  this  respect,  and  a  passage  in  one  of  his  letters,  written  he- 
fore  the  controversy .  about  Indulgences  had  arisen,  affords  a 
most  interesting  illustration  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
principles  he  came  forward  to  assert  had  grown  out  of  his 
personal  experience.  "  Away,"  he  says,  in  the  92nd  and 
93rd  Theses,  "  with  all  those  prophets  who  say  to  the  people 
of  Christ,  '  Peace,  peace,'  and  there  is  no  peace.  Blessed  be 
all  those  prophets  who  say  to  the  people  of  Christ,  '  The 
Cross,  the  Cross,'  and  there  is  no  Cross."  These  somewhat 
enigmatic  expressions  are  at  once  explained  in  the  letter  re- 
ferred to,  written  to  a  Prior  of  the  Augustinian  order,  on  the 
22nd  of  June,  1516. 1     He  says  :— 

"  You  are  seeking  and  craving  for  peace,  but  in  the  wrong 
order.  For  you  are  seeking  it  as  the  world  giveth,  not  as  Christ 
giveth.  Know  you  not  that  God  is  '  wonderful  among  His 
saints,'  for  this  reason,  that  He  establishes  His  peace  in  the 
midst  of  no  peace,  that  is,  of  all  temptations  and  afflictions.'  It 
is  said  '  Thou  shalt  dwell  in  the  midst  of  thine  enemies.'  The 
man  who  possesses  peace  is  not  the  man  whom  no  one  disturbs 
— that  is  the  peace  of  the  world ;  he  is  the  man  whom  all  men 
and  all  things  disturb,  but  who  bears  all  patiently,  and  with 
joy.  You  are  saying  with  Israel,  'Peace,  peace,'  and  there 
is  no  peace.  Learn  to  say  rather  with  Christ :  '  The  Cross, 
the  Cross,'  and  there  is  no  Cross.  For  the  Cross  at  once 
ceases  to  be  the  Cross  as  soon  as  you  have  joyfully  exclaimed, 
in  the  language  of  the  hymn, 

"  '  Blessed  Cross,  above  all  other, 
One  and  only  noble  tree.' " 

One   other  extract  of  the  same  import  it  may  be  well   to 
quote  from  these  early  letters,  as  it  is  similarly  the  germ  of  one 
of  the  noblest  passages  in  Luther's  subsequent  explanation  of 
1  Letters,  editeil  by  De  Wette,  i.  27. 


FIRST   PRINCIPLES  xix 

the  Ninety-five  Theses.1     The  letter  was  addressed  to  a  brother 
Augustinian  on  the  15th  of  April,  1516.     Luther  says: — 

"  The  cross  of  Christ  has  been  divided  throughout  the  whole 
world,  and  every  one  meets  with  his  own  portion  of  it.  Do 
not  you  therefore  reject  it,  but  rather  accept  it  as  the  most 
holy  relic,  to  be  kept,  not  in  a  gold  or  silver  chest,  but  in  a 
golden  heart,  that  is,  a  heart  imbued  with  gentle  charity.  For 
if,  by  contact  with  the  flesh  and  blood  of  Christ,  the  wood  of 
the  Cross  received  such  consecration  that  its  relics  are  deemed 
supremely  precious,  how  much  more  should  injuries,  persecu- 
tions, sufferings  and  the  hatred  of  men,  whether  of  the  just  or 
of  the  unjust,  be  regarded  as  the  most  sacred  of  all  relics — 
relics  which,  not  by  the  mere  touch  of  His  flesh,  but  by  the 
charity  of  His  most  bitterly  tried  heart  and  of  His  divine 
will,  were  embraced,  kissed,  blessed,  and  abundantly  con- 
secrated ;  for  thus  was  a  curse  transformed  into  a  blessing, 
and  injury  into  justice,  and  passion  into  glory,  and  the  Cross 
into  joy."  2 

The  few  letters,  in  fact,  in  our  possession,  written  by 
Luther  before  he  came  forward  in  1517,  are  sufficient  to 
afford  the  most  vivid  proof  both  of  the  mature  thought  and 
experience  in  which  his  convictions  were  rooted,  and  of  their 
being  prompted,  not  by  the  spirit  of  reckless  confidence  to 
which  they  have  sometimes  been  ignorantly  ascribed,  but  by 
the  deepest  sympathy  with  the  lessons  of  the  Cross.  The 
purport  of  his  characteristic  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith 
was  not  to  give  men  the  assurance  of  immunity  from  suffering 
and  sorrow,  as  the  consequence  of  sin,  but  to  give  them  peace 
of  conscience  and  joy  of  heart  in  the  midst'of  such  punishments. 

1  It  is  a  pleasure  to  be  able  to  refer  for  this  passage  to  the  first  volume  of  the 
new  Critical  Edition  of  Luther's  works,  just  published  in  Germany,  page  613, 
line  21.  This  magnificent  edition,  prepared  under  the  patronage  of  the 
German  Emperor,  is  the  best  of  all  contributions  to  the  present  Commemora- 
tion. It  must  supersede  all  other  editions,  and  it  ought  to  find  a  place  in  all 
considerable  libraries  in  England.  A  translation  of  the  passage  in  question 
will  be  found  in  the  Bampton  Lectures  of  the  present  writer,  p.  186. 

2  Letters,  edited  by  De  Wette,  i.  p.  19. 

b  2 


xx  LUTHER  S 

What  it  proclaimed  was  that,  if  men  would  but  believe  it,  they 
could  at  any  moment  grasp  God's  forgiveness,  and  live  hence- 
forth in  the  assured  happiness  of  His  personal  favour  and  love. 
Of  this  blessing  His  promise  was  the  only  possible  warrant, 
and  like  all  other  promises,  it  could  only  be  accepted  by  Faith. 
Every  man  is  invited  to  believe  it,  since  it  is  offered  to  all  for 
Christ's  sake  ;  but  by  the  nature  of  the  case,  none  can  enjoy  it 
who  do  not  believe  it. 

The  ground,  however,  on  which  this  promise  was  based 
affords  another  striking  illustration  of  the  way  in  which 
Luther's  teaching  was  connected  with  that  of  the  Middle  Age. 
Together  with  that  keen  apprehension  of  the  divine  judgments 
and  of  human  sin  just  mentioned,  the  awful  vision  of  our 
Lord's  sufferings  and  of  His  atonement  overshadowed  the 
whole  thought  of  those  times.  St.  Anselm,  in  the  Cur  Deiis 
Homo,  had  aroused  deeper  meditation  on  this  subject  than  had 
before  been  bestowed  upon  it ;  and  in  this,  as  in  other  matters, 
he  is  the  type  of  the  grand  school  of  thought  which  he  founded. 
As  in  his  mind,  so  throughout  the  Middle  Age,  in  proportion 
to  the  apprehension  of  the  terrible  nature  of  the  Divine  justice, 
is  the  prominence  given  to  the  sacrificial  means  for  averting 
the  Divine  wrath.  The  innumerable  Masses  of  the  later 
Middle  Ages  were  so  many  confessions  of  the  deep-felt  need  of 
atonement ;  and  formal  as  they  ultimately  became,  they  were 
in  intention  so  many  cries  for  forgiveness  from  the  terror- 
struck  consciences  of  sinful  men  and  women.  Luther  was 
a  true  child  of  the  Church  in  his  deep  apprehension  of  the 
same  need,  and  it  was  precisely  because  he  realised  it  with 
exceptional  truth  and  depth  that  he  was  forced  to  seek  some 
deeper  satisfaction  than  the  offering  of  Masses  could  afford. 
He  reasserted  the  truth  that  the  need  had  been  met  and 
answered  once  for  all  by  the  Sacrifice  on  the  Cross ;  and  by 
proclaiming  the  sufficiency  of  that  one  eternal  offering  he 
swept  away  all  the  "  Sacrifices  of  Masses,"  while  at  the  same 
time  he  provided  the  answer  to  the  craving  to  which  they 
testified.     The  doctrine  of  the  Atonement,  as  asserted  at  the 


FIRST    PRINCIPLES  xxi 

Reformation,  is  the  true  answer  to  that  cry  of  the  human 
conscience  which  the  Church  of  the  preceding  age  had  vainly 
endeavoured  to  satisfy.  The  Sacrament,  of  which  the  Mass  was 
a  perversion,  was  thus  restored  to  its  true  character  on  a 
pledge  and  an  instrument  of  blessings  bestowed  by  God,  instead 
of  a  propitiatory  offering  on  the  part  of  men.  The  Cross  of 
Christ,  the  favourite  symbol  of  the  mediaeval  Church,  was  thus 
held  aloft  by  the  Reformer  in  still  deeper  reality,  as  the  central 
symbol  of  the  Church's  message,  and  as  the  one  adequate 
ground  for  the  faith  to  which  he  called  men. 

Now  the  view  of  the  Christian  life  involved  in  this  principle 
of  Justification  by  Faith  found  its  most  comj)lete  and  beautiful 
expression  in  the  Treatise  "  On  Christian  Liberty,"  translated 
in  this  volume ;  and  a  brief  notice  of  the  teaching  of  that 
treatise  will  best  serve  to  explain  the  connection  between 
Luther's  cardinal  doctrine  and  the  other  principles  which  he 
asserted.  As  is  explained  at  the  close  of  the  introductory 
letter  to  Leo  X.  (p.  101),  he  designed  it  as  a  kind  of  peace- 
offering  to  the  Pope,  and  as  a  declaration  of  the  sole  objects  he 
had  at  heart,  and  to  which  he  desired  to  devote  his  life.  "  It 
is  a  small  matter,"  he  says,  "  if  you  look  to  its  bulk,  but  unless 
I  mistake,  it  is  a  summary  of  the  Christian  life  in  small 
compass,  if  you  apprehend  its  meaning."  In  fact,  it  presents 
the  most  complete  view  of  Luther's  theology,  alike  in  its 
principles  and  in  its  practice,  almost  entirely  disembarrassed 
of  the  controversial  elements  by  which,  under  the  inevitable 
pressure  of  circumstances,  his  other  works,  and  especially 
those  of  a  later  date,  were  disturbed.  Perhaps  the  only  part 
of  his  works  to  compare  with  it  in  this  respect  is  the  precious 
collection  of  his  House-postills,  or  Exposition  of  the  Gospels  for 
the  Sundays  of  the  Christian  Year.  They  were  delivered 
within  his  domestic  circle,  and  recorded  by  two  of  his  pupils, 
and  though  but  imperfectly  reported,  they  are  treasures  of 
Evangelical  exposition,  exhibiting  in  a  rare  degree  the 
exquisitely  childlike  character  of  the  Reformer's  faith,  and 
marked   by  all   the    simplicity  and  the  poetry  of  feeling  by 


xxii  LUTHER  S 

which  his  mind  was  distinguished.  It  is  by  such"  works  as 
these,  and  not  simply  by  his  controversial  treatises  or  com- 
mentaries, that  Luther  must  be  judged,  if  we  wish  either  to 
understand  his  inner  character,  or  to  comprehend  the  vast 
personal  influence  he  exerted.  But  in  its  essence,  the  Gospel 
which  he  preached,  the  substance  of  what  he  had  learned  from 
the  temptations,  the  prayers,  the  meditations — tentationes, 
orationes,  meditationes — of  his  life  as  a  monk,  is  sufficiently 
embodied  in  the  short  Treatise  on  Christian  Liberty. 

The  argument  of  the  Treatise  is  summed  up,  with  the  anti- 
thetical force  so  often  characteristic  of  great  genius,  in  the  two 
propositions  laid  down  at  the  outset.  "  A  Christian  man  is 
the  most  free  lord  of  all  and  subject  to  none  :  A  Christian 
man  is  the  most  dutiful  servant  of  all,  and  subject  to  every 
one."  The  first  of  these  propositions  expresses  the  practical 
result  of  the  doctrine  of  Justification  by  Faith.  The  Christian 
is  in  possession  of  a  promise  of  God,  which  in  itself,  and  in  the 
assurance  it  involves,  is  a  greater  blessing  to  him  than  all 
other  privileges  or  enjoyments  whatever.  Everything  sinks 
into  insignificance  compared  with  this  word  and  Gospel.  "  Let 
us,"  he  says,  "  hold  it  for  certain  and  firmly  established  that 
the  soul  can  do  without  everything  except  the  word  of  God, 
without  which  none  of  its  wants  are  provided  for.  But,  having 
the  word,  it  is  rich  and  wants  for  nothing,  since  it  is  the 
word  of  life,  of  truth,  of  light,  of  peace,  of  justification,  of 
salvation,  of  joy,  of  liberty,  of  wisdom,  of  virtue,  of  grace,  of 
glory,  and  of  every  good  thing."  If  it  be  asked,  "  What  is  this 
word  ?  "  he  answers  that  the  Apostle  Paul  explains  it,  namely 
that  "  it  is  the  Gospel  of  God,  concerning  His  Son,  incarnate, 
suffering,  risen,  and  glorified  through  the  Spirit,  the  Sanctifier. 
To  preach  Christ  is  to  feed  the  soul,  to  justify  it,  to  set  it  free, 
and  to  save  it,  if  it  believes  the  preaching  .  .  .  For  the  word  of 
God  cannot  be  received  and  honoured  by  any  works,  but  by 
Faith  alone."  This  is  the  cardinal  point  around  which  not 
merely  Luther's  theology,  but  his  whole  life  turns.  God  had 
descended  into  the  world,   spoken  to  him   by  His   Son,  His 


FIRST   PRINCIPLES  xxiii 

Apostles,   the  Scriptures,   and  the  voice  of  the  Church,  and 
promised  him  forgiveness  in  the  present,  and  final  deliverance 
from  his  evil  in  the  future,  if  he  would  but  trust  Him.     The 
mere  possession  of  such  a  promise  outweighed  in  Luther's  view 
all  other  considerations  whatever,  and  absolute  faith  was  due  to 
it.     No  higher  offence  could  be  offered  to  God  than  to  reject  or 
doubt  His  promise,  and  at  the  same  time  no  higher  honour 
could  be  rendered  Him  than  to  believe  it.     The  importance  and 
value  of  the  virtue  of  Faith  is  thus  determined  entirely  by  the 
promise  on  which  it  rests.     These  "  promises  of  God  are  words 
of  holiness,  truth,  righteousness,  liberty,  and  peace,  and  are 
full  of  universal  goodness,  and  the  soul  which  cleaves  to  them 
with  a  firm  faith  is  so  united  to  them,  nay,  thoroughly  absorbed 
by  them,  that  it  not  only  partakes  in,  but  is  penetrated  and 
saturated  by  all  their  virtue.     For  if  the  touch  of  Christ  was 
health,  how  much  more  does  that  most  tender  spiritual  touch, 
nay,    absorption   of    the  word,  communicate   to  the    soul   all 
that  belongs  to  the  word  ?     In  this  way,  therefore,  the  soul 
through  faith  alone,  without   works,  is  by  the  word  of  God 
justified,  sanctified,  endued  with  truth,  peace,  and  liberty,  and 
filled  full  with  every  good  thing,  and  is  truly  made  the  child  of 
God  ...     As  is  the  word,  such  is  the  soul  made  by  it ;  just  as 
iron  exposed  to  fire  glows  like  fire  on  account  of  its  union  with 
the  fire."     Moreover,  just  as  it  is  faith  which  unites  husband 
and  wife,  so  faith  in  Christ  unites  the  soul  to  Him  in  indisso- 
luble union.     For  "  if  a  true  marriage,  nay,  by  far  the  most 
perfect  of  all  marriages,  is  accomplished  between  them — for 
human   marriages   are   but    feeble   types   of    this   one   great 
marriage— then  it  follows  that  all  they  have  becomes  theirs 
in  common,  as  well  good  things  as  evil  things ;  so  that  whatso- 
ever Christ  possesses,  the  believing  soul  may  take  to  itself  and 
boast  of  as  its  own,  and  whatever  belongs  to  the  soul,  Christ 
claims  as  his  .  .  .    Thus  the  believing  soul,  by  the  pledge  of  its 
faith  in  Christ,  becomes  free  from  all  sin,  fearless  of  death,  safe 
from  hell,  and  endowed  with  the  eternal  righteousness,  life  and 
salvation  of  its  husband  Christ." 


xxiv  LUTHER  S 

It  is  esseutial  to  dwell  upon  these  passages,  since,  the  force  of 
the  Eeformer's  great  doctrine  cannot  possibly  be  apprehended 
as  long  as  he  is  supposed  to  attribute  the  efficacy  of  which  he 
speaks  to  any  inherent  quality  in  the  human  heart  itself.  It 
is  the  word  and  promise  of  God  which  is  the  creative  force. 
But  this  summons  a  man  into  a  sphere  above  this  world,  bids 
him  rest  upon  the  divine  love  which  speaks  to  him,  and  places 
him  on  the  eternal  foundation  of  a  direct  covenant  with  God 
Himself  in  Christ.  As  in  the  Theses,  so  in  this  Treatise, 
Luther  reiterates  that  it  in  no  way  implies  exemption  from 
the  discipline  of  suffering.  "  Yea,"  he  says,  "  the  more  of  a 
Christian  any  man  is,  to  so  many  the  more  evils,  sufferings,  and 
deaths  is  he  subject ;  as  we  see  in  the  first  place  in  Christ  the 
first-born  and  in  all  His  holy  brethren."  The  power  of  which 
he  speaks  is  a  spiritual  one  "  which  rules  in  the  midst  of 
enemies,  in  the  midst  of  distresses.  It  is  nothing  else  than  that 
strength  is  made  perfect  in  my  weakness,  and  that  I  can  turn 
all  things  to  the  profit  of  my  salvation  ;  so  that  even  the  cross 
and  death  are  compelled  to  serve  me  and  to  work  together  for 
my  salvation."  "  It  is  a  lofty  and  eminent  dignity,  a  true  and 
Almighty  dominion,  a  spiritual  empire  in  which  there  is  nothing 
so  good,  nothing  so  bad,  as  not  to  work  together  for  my  good, 
if  only  I  believe." 

If  we  compare  this  language  with  those  conceptions  of 
spiritual  terror  by  which  Luther  had  been  driven  into  a 
monastery,  and  under  which,  like  so  many  in  his  age,  he  had 
groaned  and  struggled  in  despair,  we  can  appreciate  the 
immense  deliverance  which  he  had  experienced.  The  Divine 
promise  had  lifted  him  "  out  of  darkness  and  out  of  the  shadow 
of  death,  and  had  broken  his  bonds  in  sunder."  It  is  this  which 
is  the  source  of  the  undaunted  and  joyful  faith  which  marks 
the  whole  of  the  Eeformer's  public  career.  "  Whose  heart," 
he  exclaims,  "  would  not  rejoice  in  its  inmost  core  at  hearing 
these  things  ?  Whose  heart,  on  receiving  so  great  a  consola- 
tion, would  not  become  sweet  with  the  love  of  Christ :  a  love 
to  which  it   can  never  attain  by  any  laws  or  works  ?     Who 


FIRST   PRINCIPLES  xxv 

can  injure  such  a  heart,  or  make  it  afraid  ?  If  the  conscious- 
ness of  sin,  or  the  horror  of  death  rush  in  upon  it,  it  is  pre- 
pared to  hope  in  the  Lord,  and  is  fearless  of  these  evils  and 
undisturbed,  until  it  shall  look  down  upon  its  enemies."  Such 
a  conviction,  uttered  in  such  burning  language,  lifted  the  same 
cloud  of  darkness  and  fear  from  the  hearts  of  the  common 
people  of  that  day,  and  was  welcomed  as  good  tidings  of  great 
joy  by  multitudes  of  burdened  and  terror-stricken  hearts.  No- 
thing is  more  characteristic  of  Luther's  preaching,  and  of  the 
Reformers  who  follow  him,  than  the  sense  they  display  that 
they  have  before  them  souls  "  weary  and  heavy-laden."  Their 
language  presupposes  the  prevalence  of  that  atmosphere  of 
spiritual  apprehension  and  gloom  already  described,  and  their 
grand  aim  is  to  lead  men  out  of  it  into  the  joy  and  peace  and 
liberty  of  the  Gospel.  The  consequence  is  that  a  new  confi- 
dence, hope  and  energy  is  infused  into  the  moral  and  spiritual 
world  of  that  day.  The  tone  of  unbounded  joy  and  hope  which 
marks  the  earliest  Christian  literature,  particularly  in  the 
Apostolic  Fathers,  re-appears  in  such  a  Treatise  as  we  are 
considering,  and  in  the  whole  religious  thought  of  the  Re- 
formers ;  and  it  would  almost  seem  as  if  the  long  agony  of  the 
Middle  Ages  had  but  enhanced  the  joy  of  the  final  deliver- 
ance. 

It  is  unnecessary,  for  our  present  purpose,  to  dwell  long 
upon  the  second  point  of  the  Treatise,  in  which  Luther  illus- 
trates his  second  proposition  that  "  a  Christian  man  is  the 
most  dutiful  servant  of  all  and  subject  to  every  one."  It  will 
be  enough  to  observe  that  Luther  is  just  as  earnest  in  insist- 
ing upon  the  application  of  faith  in  the  duties  of  charity  and 
self-discipline  as  upon  the  primary  importance  of  faith  itself. 
The  spirit  of  faith,  he  says,  "  applies  itself  with  cheerfulness 
and  zeal "  to  restrain  and  repress  the  impulses  of  the  lower 
nature.  "  Here  works  begin ;  here  a  man  must  not  take  his 
ease ;  here  he  must  give  heed  to  exercise  his  body  by  fastings, 
watchings,  labour,  and  other  reasonable  discipline,  so  that  it 
may  be  subdued  to  the  spirit,  and  obey  and  conform  itself  to  the 


xxvi  LUTHER  S 

inner  man  and  to  faith."     Similarly,  he  will  give  himself  up  to 
the  service  of  others,  and  it  is  partly  with  a  view  to  rendering 
them  such  service  that  he  will  discipline  his  body  and  keep  it 
in  due  energy  and  soundness.     He  starts  from  the  belief  that 
God,  without  merit  on  his  part,  has  of  his  pure  and  free  mercy 
bestowed   on   him,  an  unworthy  creature,  all  the   riches    of 
justification  and  salvation  in  Christ,  so  that  he  is  no  longer  in 
want  of  anything  except  of  faith  to  believe  that  this  is  so. 
For  such   a  Father,   then,  who   has   overwhelmed   him  with 
these  inestimable  riches  of  His,   must  he  not  freely,  cheer- 
fully, and  from  voluntary  zeal,  do  all  that  he  knows  will  be 
pleasing  to  Him  and  acceptable  in  His  sight  ?     "I  will,  there- 
fore," he  says,  "  give  myself  as  a  sort  of  Christ  to  my  neighbour, 
as  Christ  has  given  Himself  to  me ;  and  will  do  nothing  in  this 
life  except  what  I  see  will  be  needful,  advantageous  and  whole- 
some for  my  neighbour,  since  by  faith  I  abound  in  all  good 
things  in  Christ."     These  practical  considerations  will  afford  the 
measure  by  which  a  man  determines  the  discipline  to  which  he 
subjects  himself,  and  the  ceremonies  which  he  observes.     They 
will  not  be  observed  for  their  own  sake,  but  as  means  to  an 
end,  and  therefore  will  never  be  practised  in  excess,  as  though 
there  were  some  merit  in  the  performance  of  them.     They  are 
like  the  scaffoldings  of  builders,  valuable  only  as  a  temporary 
assistance,  in  the  construction  of  the  building  itself.     "  We 
do  not  condemn  works  and  ceremonies ;  nay,  we  set  the  highest 
value  on  them.     We  only  condemn  that  opinion  of  works  which 
regards  them  as  constituting  true  righteousness."    In  asserting 
these  principles,  Luther  was  certainly  putting  the  axe  to  the 
root  of  the  portentous  growth  of  ascetic  and  ceremonial  observ- 
ances which  prevailed  in  his  day,  and  which  were  too  generally 
regarded  as  of  the  very  essence  of  religion.    He  enabled  men,  as 
it  were,  to  look  on  such  ceremonies  from  the  outside,  as  a  thing 
external  to  them,  and  to  reduce  or  rearrange   them  with   a 
simple  view  to  practical  usefulness.    But  no  more  earnest  exhor- 
tations to  due  self-discipline,  and  to  true  charity,  could  well  be 
found  than  are  contained  in  the  second  part  of  the  De  Libertate 


FIRST    PRINCirLES  xxvii 

It  will  be  evident,  however,  what  a  powerful  instrument  of 
reformation  was  placed  in  men's  hands  by  the  principles  of  this 
Treatise.  Every  Christian  man,  by  virtue  of  the  promise  of 
Christ,  was  proclaimed  free,  so  far  as  the  eternal  necessities  of 
his  soul  were  concerned,  from  all  external  and  human  condi- 
tions whatever.  Nothing,  indeed,  was  further  from  Luther's 
intention  or  inclination  than  the  overthrow  of  existing  order, 
or  the  disparagement  of  any  existing  authority  which  could  be 
reasonably  justified.  His  letter  to  Pope  Leo,  prefixed  to  the 
Treatise  we  have  been  considering,  shows  that  while  denounc- 
ing unsparingly  the  abuses  of  the  Court  of  Kome,  he  was 
sincere  in  his  deference  to  the  See  of  Kome  itself.  But  the 
principle  of  justification  enabled  him  to  proclaim  that  if  that 
See  or  any  existing  Church  authority,  misused  its  power,  and 
refused  to  reform  abuses,  then,  in  the  last  resort,  the  soul  of  man 
could  do  without  it.  In  that  day  at  all  events — and  perhaps 
in  our  own  to  a  greater  extent  than  is  sometimes  supposed — this 
conviction  supplied  the  fulcrum  which  was  essential  for  any 
effectual  reforming  movement.  As  is  observed  by  the  Church 
historian  Gieseler,  in  his  admirable  account  of  the  early  history 
of  the  Eeformation,  the  Papacy  had  ever  found  its  strongest 
support  in  the  people  at  large.  In  spite  of  all  the  discontent 
and  disgust  provoked  by  the  corruption  of  the  Church  and 
the  clergy,  an  enormous  though  indefinite  authority  was  still 
popularly  attributed  to  the  Pope  and  the  ecclesiastical  hie- 
rarchy. The  Pope  was  believed  to  be  in  some  sense  or  other 
the  supreme  administrator  of  spiritual  powers  which  were 
effectual  in  the  next  world  as  well  as  in  the  present ;  and 
consequently  when  any  controversy  with  the  Church  came 
to  a  crisis,  men  shrank  from  direct  defiance  of  the  Papal 
authority.  They  did  not  feel  that  they  had  any  firm  ground 
on  which  they  could  stand  if  they  incurred  its  formal  con- 
demnation; and  thus  it  always  had  at  its  command,  in  the 
strongest  possible  sense,  the  ultima  ratio  of  rulers.  The  con- 
victions to  which  Luther  had  been  led  at  once  annihilated 
these  pretensions.      "  One  thing  and  one  alone,"  he  declared, 


xxviii  LUTHER'S 

"  is  necessary  for  life,  justification  and  Christian  liberty,  and 
that  is,  the  most  holy  word  of  God,  the  Gospel  of  Christ."  As 
we  have  seen,  he  proclaimed  it  "  for  certain,  and  firmly  estab- 
lished, that  the  soul  can  do  without  everything  except  the  word 
of  God."  It  is  the  mission  of  the  Christian  ministry,  in  its 
administration  of  the  Word  and  Sacraments,  to  convey  this 
Gospel  to  the  soul,  and  to  arouse  a  corresponding  faith.  But 
the  promise  is  not  annexed  indissolubly  to  that  administration, 
and  the  only  invariable  rule  of  salvation  is  that  "  the  just 
shall  live  by  faith."  By  this  principle,  that  vague  fear  of 
the  spiritual  powers  of  the  hierarchy  was  removed,  and  men 
were  endowed  with  real  Christian  liberty. 

But  the  principle  went  still  further;  for  it  vindicated  for 
the  laity  the  possession  of  spiritual  faculties  and  powers  the 
same  in  kind  as  those  of  the  clergy.  All  Christian  men  are 
admitted  to  the  privilege  of  priesthood,  and  are  "worthy  to 
appear  before  God  to  pray  for  others,  and  to  teach  one  another 
mutually  the  things  which  are  of  God."  In  case  of  necessity, 
as  is  universally  recognized,  Baptism  can  be  validly  administered 
by  lay  hands,  and  English  Divines,  of  the  most  unimpeachable 
authority  on  the  subject,  have  similarly  recognized  that  the 
valid  administration  of  the  Holy  Communion  is  not  dependent 
on  the  ordination  of  the  minister  by  Episcopal  authority.1 
Luther  urges  accordingly  that  all  Christians  possess  virtually 
the  capacities  which,  as  a  matter  of  order,  are  commonly 
restricted  to  the  clergy.  Whether  that  restriction  is  properly 
dependent  upon  regular  devolution  from  Apostolic  authority,  or 
whether  the  ministerial  commission  can  be  sufficiently  conferred 
by  appointment  from  the  Christian  community  or  congregation 
as  a  whole,  becomes  on  this  principle  a  secondary  point. 
Luther  pronounced  with  the  utmost  decision  in  favour  of  the 
latter  alternative  ;  but  the  essential  element  of  his  teaching  is 
independent  of  this  question.  By  whatever  right  the  exercise 
of  the  ministry  may  be  restricted  to  a  particular  body  of  men, 

1  See,  for  instance,  Bp.  Cosin's  Works,  Appendix,  vol.  L,  31,  in  the 
Library  of  Anglo-Catholic  Theology. 


FIRST    PRINCIPLES  xxix 

what  lie  asserted  was  that  the  functions  of  the  clergy  are 
simply  ministerial,  and  that  they  do  but  exercise,  on  behalf  of 
all,  powers  which  all  virtually  possess.  This  principle  Luther 
proceeded  to  assert  in  the  first  of  the  Treatises  translated  in  this 
volume,  the  "  Address  to  the  Christian  Nobility  of  the  German 
Nation  respecting  the  Eeformation  of  the  Christian  Estate." 
This  Treatise  is  perhaps  the  one  which  appealed  most  widely 
and  directly  to  the  German  nation  at  large.  Luther  completed 
it  at  the  very  moment  when  the  Bull  of  excommunication 
against  him  was  being  prepared,  and  it  contributed,  perhaps 
more  than  anything,  to  paralyze  the  influence  of  that 
Bull  with  the  mass  of  the  people  and  their  lay  leaders.  It 
appeared  in  August,  1520,  and  by  the  18th  of  that  month 
more  than  four  thousand  copies  had  been  already  dispersed — a 
prodigious  circulation,  considering  the  state  of  literature  at 
that  day.  The  reader,  however,  will  not  be  surprised  at  this 
popularity  of  the  Treatise  when  he  sees  with  what  astonishing 
vigour,  frankness,  humour,  good  sense,  and  at  the  same  time 
intense  moral  indignation,  Luther  denounces  in  it  the  corrup- 
tions of  the  Church,  and  the  injuries  inflicted  by  the  Court  of 
Borne  on  the  German  people.  So  tremendous  an  indictment, 
sustained  with  such  intense  and  concentrated  force,  could 
hardly  be  paralleled  in  literature.  The  truth  of  the  charges 
alleged  in  it  could  be  amply  sustained  by  reference  to 
Erasmus's  works  alone,  particularly  to  the  Encomium  Morise  ; 
but  Erasmus  lacked  alike  the  moral  energy  necessary  to  rouse 
the  action  of  the  laity,  and  the  spiritual  insight  necessary  to 
justify  that  action.  Luther  possessed  both ;  and  it  was  the 
combination  of  the  two  which  rendered  him  so  mighty  a  force. 
It  is  this  perhaps  which  essentially  distinguishes  him  from 
previous  reformers.  They  attacked  particular  errors  and 
abuses,  and  deserve  unbounded  honour  for  the  protests  they 
raised,  and  Wycliff  in  particular  merits  the  homage  of  English- 
men as  one  of  the  chief  motive  powers  in  the  first  reforming 
movement.  But  they  did  not  assert,  at  least  with  sufficient 
clearness,  the  central  principle  without  which  all  reform  was 


xxx  LUTHER'S 

impracticable — that  of  the  equal  rights  of  laity  and  clergy,  and 
of  the  soul's  independence  of  all  human  power,  by  virtue  of  the 
truth  of  Justification  by  Faith.  Luther's  doctrine  of  Christian 
liberty  was  the  emancipation  alike  of  individuals  and  of  the 
laity  at  large.  It  vindicated  for  the  whole  lay  estate,  and  for  all 
ranks  and  conditions  of  lay  life,  a  spiritual  dignity,  and  a  place  in 
the  spiritual  life  of  the  Church.  It  restored  a  sense  of  indepen- 
dent responsibility  to  all  natural  authorities  ;  and  it  reasserted 
the  sacredness  of  all  natural  relations.  Practically,  even  if  not 
theoretically,  the  Eoman  system  had  disparaged  the  ordinary 
relations  of  life  as  compared  with  the  so-called  "  religious  "  or 
ecclesiastical.  Luther,  by  placing  all  men  and  women  on  the 
same  spiritual  standing  ground,  swept  away  any  such  privileges ; 
and  gave  men  as  clear  a  conscience,  and  as  great  a  sense  of  spiritual 
dignity,  in  the  ordinary  duties  of  marriage,  of  fatherhood,  and 
in  the  common  offices  of  life,  as  in  any  ecclesiastical  order. 

The  "  Address  to  the  Nobility  of  the  German  Nation " 
exhibits  these  principles,  and  their  application  to  the  practical 
problems  of  the  day,  in  the  most  vigorous  and  popular  form  ; 
and  if  some  expressions  appear  too  sweeping  and  violent,  due 
allowance  must  be  made  for  the  necessity  which  Luther  must 
have  felt  of  appealing  with  the  utmost  breadth  and  force  to 
the  popular  mind.  But  it  remains  to  consider  a  further  aspect 
of  these  principles  which  is  illustrated  by  the  third  Treatise 
translated  in  this  volume — that  on  the  "Babylonish  Captivity 
of  the  Church."  Luther,  as  has  been  seen,  was  appealing  to 
laity  and  clergy  alike,  on  the  ground  of  their  spiritual  freedom, 
to  abolish  the  abuses  of  the  Soman  Church.  But  it  became  at 
once  a  momentous  question  by  what  principles  the  exercise  of 
that  liberty  was  to  be  guided,  and  within  what  limits  it  was  to 
be  exerted.  In  a  very  short  time  fanatics  sprung  up,  who 
claimed  to  exercise  such  liberty  without  any  restrictions  at  all, 
and  who  refused  to  recognize  any  standard  but  that  of  their 
own  supposed  inspiration.  But  the  service  which  Luther 
rendered  in  repelling  such  abuses  of  his  great  doctrine  was 
only  second  to  that  of  establishing  the  doctrine  itself.     The 


FIRST   PRINCIPLES  xxxi 

rule  of  faith  and  practice  on  which  he  insisted  was  indeed 
necessarily  involved  in  his  primary  principle.     Faith,  as  has 
been  seen,  was  with  him  no  abstract  quality,  but  was  simply  a 
response  to  the  word  and  promise  of  God.     That  word,  accord- 
ingly, in   its   various  forms,  was  in  Luther's  mind  the  sole 
creative  power  of  the  Christian  life.     In  the  form  of  a  simple 
promise,    it   is    the   basis   of  justification   and   of  our  whole 
spiritual  existence"";  and  similarly  in  its  more  general  form,  as 
recorded  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  it  contains  all  truths,  alike  of 
belief  and  of  practice,  which  are  essential  to  salvation  here  and 
hereafter.     The  word  of  God,  in  whatever  form,  whether  a 
simple  promise,  or  a  promise  embodied  in  a  Sacrament,  or  a 
series  of  revelations  made  by  God's  Spirit  to  the  soul  of  man,  as 
recorded  in  the  Bible,  is  the  grand  reality  which,  in  Luther's  view, 
dwarfed  all  other  realities  on  earth.     It  must  needs  do  so,  if  it 
be  a  reality  at  all ;  but  no  one  has  ever  grasped  this  truth  with 
such  intense  insight  as  Luther.     Consequently,  in  his  view,  the 
Anabaptist,  who  held  himself  emancipated  from  the  authority 
of  God's  word  on  the  one  side,  was  as  grievously  in  error  as  the 
Komanist  on  the  other,  who  superseded  its  authority  by  that  of 
the  Church ;  and  in  applying  his  great  principle  and  working  out 
the  Keformation,  Luther's  task  consisted  in  upholding  the  due 
authority  of  the  Scriptures  against  the  extremes  on  both  sides. 
Now  in  the  Treatise  on  the  Babylonish  Captivity  of ,  the 
Church   he   applies   this   rule,  in   connection  with   his   main 
principle,  to  the  elaborate  sacramental  system  of  the  Church 
of  Kome.     Of  the  seven  sacraments  recognised  by  that  church, 
he  recognizes,  strictly  speaking,  only  two,  Baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper ;  and  the  connection  of  this  conclusion  with  the 
central  truth  he  was   asserting  is  a  point  of  deep  interest. 
Here,  too,  the  one  consideration  which  overpowers  every  other 
in  his  view  is  the  supreme  import  of  a  promise  or  word  of  God. 
But  there  are  two  institutions  under   the  Gospel  which  are 
distinguished  from  all  others  by  a  visible  sign,  instituted  by 
Christ  Himself,  as  a  pledge  of  the  Divine  promise.     A  sign  so 
instituted,  and  with  such  a  purpose,  constituted  a  peculiarly 


xxxii  LUTHER'S 

precious  form  of  those  Divine  promises  which  are  the  life  of  the 
soul :  and  for  the  same  reason  that  the  Divine  word  and  the 
Divine  promise  are  supreme  in  all  other  instances,  so  must 
these  be  supreme  and  unique  among  ceremonies.  The  distinc- 
tion, by  which  the  two  Sarcaments  acknowledged  by  the  Be- 
formed  Churches  are  separated  from  the  remaining  five  of  the 
Roman  Church,  is  thus  no  question  of  names  but  of  things.  It 
was  a  question  whether  a  ceremony  instituted  by  Christ's  own 
command,  and  embodying  His  own  promise  in  a  visible  pledge, 
could  for  a  moment  be  put  on  the  same  level  with  ceremonies, 
however  edifying,  which  had  been  established  solely  by  the 
authority  or  custom  of  the  Church.  It  was  of  the  essence  of 
Luther's  teaching  to  assert  a  paramount  distinction  between 
these  classes  of  ceremonies  and  to  elevate  the  two  Divine 
pledges  of  forgiveness  and  spiritual  life  to  a  height  im- 
measurably superior  to  all  other  institutions.  He  hesitates, 
indeed,  whether  to  allow  an  exception  in  favour  of  Absolution, 
as  conveying  undoubtedly  a  direct  promise  from  Christ ;  but  he 
finally  decides  against  it,  on  the  ground  that  it  is  without  any 
/  visible  and  divinely  appointed  sign,  and  is  after  all  only  an 
application  of  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism. 

If,  moreover,  the  force  of  his  argument  on  this  subject  is  to 
be  apprehended,  due  attention  must  be  paid  to  the  efficacy 
which  he  thus  attributes  to  the  two  Sacraments.  The  cardinal 
point  on  which  he  insists  in  respect  to  them  is  that  they  are 
direct  pledges  from  God,  through  Christ,  and  thus  contain  the 
whole  virtue  of  the  most  solemn  Divine  promises.  They  are, 
as  it  were,  the  sign  and  seal  of  those  promises.  They  are 
messages  from  God,  not  mere  acts  of  devotion  on  the  part  of 
man.  In  Baptism  the  point  of  importance  is  not  that  men 
dedicate  themselves  or  their  children  to  Him,  but  that  He, 
through  His  minister,  gives  them  a  promise  and  a  pledge  of 
His  forgiveness,  and  of  His  Fatherly  good  will.  Similarly  in 
the  Holy  Communion  the  most  important  point  is  not  the 
offering  made  on  the  part  of  man,  but  the  promise  and 
assurance  of  communion  with  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ, 


FIRST   PRINCIPLES  xxxiii 

made  on  the  part  of  God.  It  is  this  which  constitutes  the 
radical  distinction  between  the  Lutheran  and  the  so-called 
Zwinglian  view  of  the  Sacraments.  Under  the  latter  view 
they  are  ceremonies  which  embody  and  arouse  due  feelings  on 
the  part  of  men.  On  the  former  principle,  they  are  ceremonies 
which  embody  direct  messages  and  promises  from  Grod. 

It  may  be  worth  while  to  observe  in  passing  the  position 
which  Luther  assumes  towards  the  doctrine  of  Transubstan- 
tiation.  What  he  is  concerned  to  maintain  is  that  there  is  a 
Keal  Presence  in  the  Sacrament.  All  he  is  concerned  to  deny 
is  that  Transubstantiation  is  the  necessary  explanation  of  that 
Presence.  In  other  words,  it  is  not  necessary  to  believe  in 
Transubstantiation  in  order  to  believe  in  the  Eeal  Presence. 
There  seems  a  clear  distinction  between  this  view  and  the 
formal  doctrine  of  Consubstantiation  as  afterwards  elaborated 
by  Lutheran  divines  ;  and  Luther's  caution,  at  least  in  this 
Treatise,  in  dealing  with  so  difficult  a  point,  is  eminently 
characteristic  of  the  real  moderation  with  which  he  formed  his 
views,  as  distinguished  from  the  energy  with  which  he  asserted 
them.  Another  interesting  point  in  this  Treatise  is  the 
urgency  with  which  he  protests  against  the  artificial  restraints 
upon  the  freedom  of  marriage  which  had  been  imposed  by  the 
Eoman  See.  It  would  have  been  too  much  to  expect  that  in 
applying,  single-handed,  to  so  difficult  a  subject  as  marriage, 
the  rule  of  rejecting  every  restriction  not  expressly  declared 
in  the  Scriptures,  Luther  should  have  avoided  mistakes. 
But  they  are  at  least  insignificant  in  comparison  with  the 
value  of  the  principle  he  asserted,  that  all  questions  of  the 
marriage  relation  should  be  subjected  to  the  authority  of 
Holy  Scripture  alone.  That  principle  provided,  by  its  inherent 
force,  a  remedy  for  any  errors  in  particulars  which  Luther  or  any 
individual  divine  might  commit.  The  Eoman  principle,  on  the 
contrary,  admitted  of  the  most  scandalous  and  unlimited  elasti- 
city ;  and  of  all  the  charges  brought  by  Eoman  controversialists 
against  Luther's  conduct,  none  is  marked  by  such  effrontery  as 
their  accusations  on  this  point.     While  there  are  few  dispensa- 

c 


xxxiv  LUTHER  S 

tions  which  their  Church  is  not  prepared,  for  what  it  considers 
due  causes,  to  allow,  Luther  recalled  men's  consciences  to  the 
Divine  law  on  the  subject.  He  reasserted  the  true  dignity 
and  sanctity  of  the  marriage  relation,  and  established  the 
rule  of  Holy  Scripture  as  the  standard  for  its  due  control. 

Such  are  the  main  truths  asserted  in  the  Treatises  translated 
in  this  volume,  and  it  is  but  recognising  an  historical  fact  to 
designate  them  "  First  Principles  of  the  Eeformation."  From 
them,  and  by  means  of  them,  the  whole  of  the  subsequent  move- 
ment was  worked  out.  They  were  applied  in  different  countries 
in  different  ways  ;  and  we  are  justly  proud  in  this  country  of  the 
wisdom  and  moderation  exhibited  by  our  Eeformers.  But  it 
ought  never  to  be  forgotten  that  for  the  assertion  of  the 
principles  themselves,  we,  like  the  rest  of  Europe,  are  in- 
debted to  the  genius  and  the  courage  of  Luther.  All  of 
those  principles — Justification  by  Faith,  Christian  Liberty, 
the  spiritual  rights  and  powers  of  the  Laity,  the  true  character 
of  the  Sacraments,  the  supremacy  of  the  Holy  Scriptures 
as  the  supreme  standard  of  belief  and  practice — were  asserted 
by  the  Eeformer,  as  the  Treatises  in  this  volume  bear 
testimony,  almost  simultaneously,  in  the  latter  half  of  the 
year  1520.  At  the  time  he  asserted  them,  the  Eoman  Church 
was  still  in  full  power;  and  the  year  after  he  had  to  face 
the  whole  authority  of  the  Papacy  and  of  the  Empire,  and 
to  decide  whether,  at  the  risk  of  a  fate  like  that  of  Huss, 
he  would  stand  by  these  truths.  These  were  the  truths — 
the  cardinal  principles  of  the  whole  subsequent  Eeformation, 
which  he  was  called  on  to  abandon  at  Worms ;  and  his 
refusal  to  act  against  his  conscience  at  once  translated 
them  into  vivid  action  and  reality.  It  was  one  thing  for 
Englishmen,  several  decades  after  1520,  to  apply  these  prin- 
ciples with  the  wisdom  and  moderation  of  which  we  are 
proud.  It  was  another  thing  to  be  the  Horatius  of  that  vital 
struggle.  These  grand  facts  speak  for  themselves,  and  need  only 
to  be  understood  in  order  to  justify  the  unprecedented  honours 
now  being  paid  to  the  Eeformer's  memory. 


FIE  ST   PRINCIPLES  xxxv 

It  may  not,  however,  be  out  of  place  to  dwell  in  conclusion 
upon  one  essential  characteristic  of  the  Keformer's  position, 
which  is  in  danger  at  the  present  day  of  being  disregarded.  The 
general  effect  of  this  teaching  upon  the  condition  of  the  world 
is  evident.  It  restored  to  the  people  at  large,  to  rulers  and 
to  ruled,  to  clergy  and  laity  alike,  complete  independence  of 
the  existing  ecclesiastical  system,  within  the  limits  of  the 
revelation  contained  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  In  a  word,  in 
Luther's  own  phrase,  it  established  Christian  Liberty.  But 
the  qualification  is  emphatic,  and  it  would  be  wholly  to  mis- 
understand Luther  if  it  were  disregarded.  Attempts  are  made 
at  the  present  day  to  represent  him  as  a  pioneer  of  absolute 
liberty,  and  to  treat  it  as  a  mere  accident  of  his  teaching  and 
his  system  that  he  stopped  short  where  he  did.  But  on  the 
contrary,  the  limitation  is  of  the  very  essence  of  his  teaching, 
because  that  teaching  is  based  on  the  supremacy  and  suffi- 
ciency of  the  Divine  word  and  the  Divine  promise.  If  there 
were  no  such  word  and  promise,  no  such  Divine  revelation, 
and  no  living  God  to  bring  it  home  to  men's  hearts,  and  to 
enforce  His  own  laws,  Luther  felt  that  his  protest  against 
existing  authority,  usurped  and  tyrannical  as  it  might  be, 
would  have  been  perilous  in  the  extreme.  But  when  men 
shrank  from  the  boldness  of  his  proclamation,  and  urged  that 
he  was  overthrowing  the  foundations  of  Society,  his  reply  was 
that  he  was  recalling  them  to  the  true  foundations  of  Society, 
and  that  God,  if  they  would  have  faith  in  Him,  would  protect 
His  own  word  and  will.  The  very  essence  of  his  teaching  is 
summed  up  in  the  lines  of  his  great  Psalm : 

"  Das  Wort  sie  sollen  lassen  stakn, 
Und  kein  Dank  dazu  kaben, 
Er  ist  bei  uns  wokl  auf  dem  Plan 
Mit  seinem  Geist  und  Gaben." 

Luther  believed  that  God  had  laid  down  the  laws  which  were 
essential  to  the  due  guidance  of  human  nature,  that  he  had 
prescribed  sufficiently  the  limits  within  which  that  nature 
might  range,  and  had  indicated  the  trees  of  which  it  could 

c  2 


xlvi  LUTHER'S   FIEST   PRINCIPLES 

not  safely  eat.  To  erect  any  rules  beyond  these  as  of 
general  obligation,  to  restrict  the  free  play  of  nature 
by  any  other  limitations,  he  treated  as  an  unjust  violation 
of  liberty,  which  would  provoke  a  dangerous  reaction.  But 
let  men  be  brought  face  to  face  with  God,  and  with  His  reason- 
able and  merciful  laws,  let  them  be  taught  that  He  is  their 
Father,  that  all  His  restrictions  are  for  their  benefit,  all 
His  punishments  for  their  reformation,  all  His  restraints  on 
liberty  for  their  ultimate  good,  and  you  have  then  established 
an  authority  which  cannot  be  shaken,  and  under  which  human 
nature  may  be  safely  left  to  develop.  In  this  faith,  but  in  this 
alone,  he  let  loose  men's  natural  instincts,  he  taught  men  that 
married  life,  and  lay  life,  and  all  lawful  occupations,  were 
holy  and  divine,  provided  they  were  carried  on  in  faith  and  in 
obedience  to  God's  will.  The  result  was  a  burst  of  new  life 
wherever  the  Reformation  was  adopted,  alike  in  national 
energies,  in  literature,  in  all  social  developments,  and  in 
natural  science.  But  while  we  prize  and  celebrate  the  liberty 
thus  won,  let  us  beware  of  forgetting,  or  allowing  others  to 
forget,  that  it  is  essentially  a  Christian  Liberty,  and  that  no 
other  Liberty  is  really  free.  Luther's  whole  work,  and  his 
whole  power,  lay  in  his  recognition  of  our  personal  relation  to 
God,  and  of  a  direct  revelation,  promise,  and  command,  given  to 
us  by  God.  Any  influences,  under  whatever  colour,  which  tend 
to  obscure  the  reality  of  that  revelation,  which  would  substitute 
for  it  any  mere  natural  laws  or  forces,  are  undoing  Luther's 
work,  and  contradicting  his  most  essential  principles.  If  he 
was  a  great  Beformer,  it  was  because  he  was  a  great  divine ; 
if  he  was  a  friend  of  the  people,  it  was  because  he  was  the 
friend  of  God. 


II. 
THE  POLITICAL  COURSE 

OF    THE 

REFORMATION  IN  GERMANY. 

(1517-1546.) 
By  PKOFESSOK  BUCHHEIM, 


THE  POLITICAL  COURSE  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


i. 

There  is  hardly  any  instance  on  record  in  the  annals  of  history 
of  a  single  peaceful  event  having  exercised  such  a  lasting  and 
baneful  influence  on  the  destinies  of  a  nation,  as  the  coronation 
of  Charles  the  Great  at  Borne  towards  the  close  of  the  eighth 
century.  By  placing  the  Imperial  crown  on  the  head  of  the 
then  most  powerful  ruler  in  Christendom,  Pope  Leo  III.  sym- 
bolically established  a  spiritual  supremacy  over  the  whole 
Christian  world,  but  more  especially  over  Germany  proper. 
It  is  true  it  was  alleged  that  the  new  Caesar  was  to  be  con- 
sidered the  secular  head  of  the  Christian  world  by  the  side  of 
the  spiritual  head,  but  as  it  was  the  latter  who  crowned  the 
former,  it  was  evident  that  the  sovereign  pontiff  arrogated  to 
himself  superior  authority  over  the  sovereign  monarch. 

Another  disadvantage  which  resulted  from  that  coronation 
was  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  newly  created  dignity,  which 
became  manifest  by  the  designation,  applied  to  Germany,  of 
the  "  Holy  Roman  Empire  of  the  German  nation."  This  self- 
contradictory  title  was  intended  to  convey  the  notion  that  the 
German  Emperors  were — through  transmission  from  the  Greeks 
— the  heirs  and  successors  of  the  Eoman  Caesars.  They  were 
not  to  be  German  sovereigns  of  the  German  monarchy,  but 
Roman  Emperors  of  the  German  Empire.1 

It  is  true  the  ancient  German  institution  of  royalty  was  not 
actually  abolished,  but  it  was  so  much  eclipsed  by  the  more 
pompous,  though  recent  dignity,  that  in  the  course  of  time  its 
1  ^P-  PP-  82-85,  in  this  volume. 


xl  THE   POLITICAL   COUESE 

former  existence  was  almost  entirely  forgotten,  or  at  least  looked 
upon  with  contempt ;  so  much  so,  that  a  German  sovereign  of 
the  fourteenth  century — Henry  VII. — considered  it  an  insult 
to  be  addressed  as  "  King  of  Germany,"  instead  of  as  "  King 
of  the  Eomans."  Even  the  German  Electoral  Princes  claimed 
to  exercise  the  function  of  "Eoman  Senators."  The  foreign 
stamp  thus  imprinted  upon  Germany  at  the  time  when  she 
had  only  just  begun  to  emerge  from  a  state  of  barbarism  had, 
therefore,  a  most  pernicious  influence  on  the  Germans,  divert- 
ing as  it  did  the  free  development  of  their  national  character 
from  its  natural  course.  Thus  it  may  be  truly  said,  that  on 
Christmas  Eve  of  the  year  799,  Germany  was  conquered  a 
second  time,  if  not  by  the  Eomans,  still  by  Eome. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  conflict  between  the  two  principal 
elements  in  the  government  of  the  world — the  secular  and 
the  clerical — broke  out  in  the  two-headed  Empire.  This 
antagonism  became  manifest  even  under  Charles  the  Great 
himself,  in  spite  of  the  splendour  of  his  reign,  and  the  firm- 
ness and  circumspection  of  his  government.  The  encroach- 
ments of  the  clergy  soon  showed  in  what  sense  they  under- 
stood the  division  of  power.  It  was  the  practical  application 
of  the  old  fable  about  the  lion's  share.  Everything  was  to 
be  done  for  the  clergy,  but  without  it  nothing.  This  ambitious 
aim  revealed  itself  more  openly  and  effectively  under  the 
descendants  of  Charles  the  Great,  the  internal  dissensions  of 
whose  reigns  greatly  facilitated  the  victory  of  the  clerical  order 
in  their  interference  in  secular  matters. 

Under  the  powerful  rule  of  Henry  I.  (919-936),  surnamed 
"  The  Fowler,"  or  more  appropriately  "  the  founder  of  the 
German  Empire"  and  also  under  the  still  more  splendid  reign 
of  his  son,  Otho  the  Great  (936-973),  nay,  even  under  the  first 
Frankish  Emperors  (1024-1056),  the  authority  of  the  Eoman 
hierarchy  was  considerably  diminished,  while  on  the  other 
hand  the  influence  of  the  German  clergy  at  home  had  greatly 
increased;  which  circumstance  was  a  powerful  factor  in  the 
conflict  between  the  iron  Pope  Gregory  VII.  and  the  impetuous 


OF    THE    REFORMATION  xli 

and  vacillating  Emperor  Henry  IV.  (1056-1106),  and  brought 
about  in  conjunction  with  the  high-handed  dealings  of  the  self- 
dubbed  "  Koman  Senators  "  of  Germany,  the  degradation  of  the 
German  Empire.  The  Papacy  was  now  in  the  zenith  of  its 
power  and  glory,  so  that  Gregory  VII.  could  boastingly 
compare  the  Pope  to  the  sun,  and  the  Emperor  to  the  moon ; 
and  although  Henry  IV.  ultimately  succeeded  in  taking 
revenge  for  his  humiliation  at  Canossa,  he  never  could  wipe 
out  its  shame,  and  what  is  more,  he  was  unable  to  suppress  or 
eradicate  the  ideas  represented  by  his  defeated  enemy,  which  had 
taken  a  firm  hold  on  the  minds  of  men.  People  believed  in  the 
supremacy  of  the  Pope,  even  when  he  was  driven  from  his  seat 
of  government ;  for  his  realm  was  of  a  spiritual  kind  and  he 
had  his  invisible  throne,  as  it  were,  in  the  hearts  of  Christian 
believers.  An  erring  Pope  was  still  the  visible  representative 
of  the  Church.  The  priests  for  the  most  part  remained  faith- 
ful to  him  under  all  circumstances.  Such,  however,  was  not 
the  case  with  the  Emperors  and  the  Princes.  In  the  first 
instance  the  former  had  no  absolute  power ;  secondly,  they  were 
elected  by  men,  who  considered  themselves  their  equals,  and 
lastly  from  the  moment  they  lost  their  throne— no  matter 
what  the  reasons  were — they  ceased  to  have  a  claim  on  the 
obedience  of  the  people.  The  priests  wished  for  a  powerful 
Pope,  because  he  was  the  natural  guardian  of  their  interests, 
whilst  the  German  Princes  objected  to  a  powerful  Emperor, 
because  they  trembled  for  their  own  independence  and  local 
authority. 

If  the  German  Emperors  had  not  been  constantly  chasing 
the  phantom  of  royal  dignity  in  Italy,  in  order  to  be — 
plausibly  at  least — entitled  to  the  vain-glorious  designation  of 
"  Eoman  Kings,"  they  might  have  directed  their  whole  energy 
to  the  consolidation  of  their  power  at  home,  and  have  held  their 
own  against  Popes  and  Prince-Electors.  Unfortunately,  how- 
ever, they  were  constantly  attracted  by  the  delusive  brilliancy  of 
possessions  in  Italy,  as  if  by  an  ignis  fatuus ;  thus  leading  on 
the  best  forces  of  Germany  to  moral  and  physical  ruin,  and 


xlii  THE    POLITICAL   COURSE 

leaving  their  native  country  an  easy  prey  to  scheming  priests 
and  ambitious  nobles.  The  result  was  that,  towards  the  end 
of  the  eleventh  century,  the  Emperor  of  Germany  had  neither 
any  influence  on  the  priests,  who  now  depended  entirely  upon 
Kome,  nor  any  power  over  the  nobles,  whose  fiefs  had  become 
hereditary;  nor  did  he  possess  any  considerable  domains,  or 
actual  revenue  in  his  Imperial  capacity.  He  had  nothing 
but  the  high-sounding  titles  of  successor  of  the  Caesars  and  of 
ruler  of  the  whole  Christian  world. 

As  a  matter  of  course  under  these  circumstances  all  progress 
of  national  life  and  culture  was  impeded.  It  did  not  spring 
spontaneously  from  within,  nor  did  it  receive  any  impulse 
from  without.  The  Germans  did  not  benefit  intellectually  in 
any  way  by  their  contact  with  the  Italians.  The  conquered 
have  often  times  become  the  teachers  of  their  conquerors  ;  but 
only  when  the  latter  settled  in  the  vanquished  country  and 
made  it  their  home.  The  German  hordes,  however,  who  crossed 
the  Alps  at  the  behests  of  their  sovereigns,  and  urged  on  by  the 
desire  for  adventure,  warfare,  and  rapine,  never  permanently 
settled,  as  a  body,  in  the  flowery  plains  and  flourishing  towns 
of  Italy.  Numbers  of  those  who  survived  the  sanguinary 
battles  fought  in  Italy,  perished  in  the  unused  climate ;  the 
others  returned  home,  frequently  enriched  by  plunder  and 
generally  tainted  by  depraved  morals.  Thus  the  Germans  did 
not  even  derive  that  small  advantage  from  their  connection 
with  the  Italians — who  at  that  time  did  not  themselves  possess 
any  literature  or  culture  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  word 
— which  a  permanent  settlement  in  Italy  would  have  conferred 
on  them. 

The  intellectual  life  of  the  Germans  did  not  begin  to  flourish 
before  the  times  of  the  Hohenstaufen  (1138-1254).  Un- 
fortunately both  Frederick  I.  (Barbarossa)  and  Frederick  II. 
were  almost  constantly  engaged  in  warfare  with  the  Popes 
and  the  Italians,  and  both  monarchs,  especially  the  latter, 
utterly  neglected  the  internal  affairs  of  Germany,  which  country 
became  a  prey  of  the  sanguinary  contest  between  Guelphs  and 


OF   THE    REFORMATION  xliii 

Ghibellines.  The  result  was  that  Conrad  IV.,  the  last  king 
from  the  Hohenstaufen  dynasty  in  Germany,  ruled  without 
even  a  shadow  of  royal  authority,  and  on  his  death,  in  1254, 
the  dissolution  of  the  old  German  Empire  may  be  said  to  have 
been  complete. 

During  the  lawless  times  of  the  Interregnum  (1254-1273)  the 
power  of  the  German  Princes  consolidated  itself  more  and  more 
amidst  the  general  anarchy.  Order  was  restored,  however,  by 
Eudolf  von  Hapsburg  (1273-1291),  who  concerned  himself  with 
the  affairs  of  the  country  only.  He  had  a  right  notion  of  what 
a  King  of  Germany  should  be,  and  emancipated  her — though 
temporarily  only — from  the  fatal  connection  as  an  Empire  with 
Rome.  More  than  half  a  century  later  the  Electoral  Princes  went 
a  step  further  in  this  direction,  by  the  formation  of  the  Kur- 
verein  (1338)  or  "  Election  Union,"  of  Rhens,  when  the  principle 
was  adopted  that  the  election  of  German  Kings  depended  upon 
the  Electoral  Princes  alone,  and  that  the  Pope  had  no  voice 
whatever  in  the  matter.  This  patriotic  proceeding  received, 
however,  a  counter-check  in  the  unworthy  dealings  of  the 
mercenary  Charles  IV.  (1347-1378),  who  repaired  to  Eome  to 
receive  there  the  crown  from  the  Pope.  He  little  thought  that 
by  resuming  the  connection  with  Rome  he  conjured  up  the 
greatest  danger  for  his  own  son  and  successor,  Wenceslaus,  who 
was  deposed  through  the  conspiracy  of  Boniface  IX.  with 
the  priests,  and  his  influence  over  the  Electoral  Princes. 

In  the  course  of  time  a  new  power — the  third  Estate — arose 
in  Germany  ;  namely,  the  Middle  Classes  as  represented  by  the 
thriving  cities  of  the  Empire.  The  burghers  generally  sided 
with  the  Emperors,  to  whom  they  looked  up  as  their  natural  pro- 
tectors against  the  exactions  of  priests  and  nobles.  But  being 
imbued  with  a  true  mercantile  spirit,  they  did  not  give  away 
their  good  will  for  nothing ;  they  asked  for  sundry  privileges  as 
compensating  equivalents.  The  Emperors  had,  therefore,  now  to 
contend  against  three  powerful  elements,  the  clergy,  the  nobles, 
and  the  burghers.  The  first  were,  through  their  chief  repre- 
sentatives— as  we  have  seen — at  all  times  the  most  dangerous 


xliv  THE   POLITICAL   COURSE 

antagonists  to  Imperial  authority,  and  generally  achieved  the 
victory  in  their  contests  with  it.  It  was  only  during  the  time  in 
which  the  Papacy  had  transferred  its  seat  of  government  to 
Avignon,  that  the  Eomish  hierarchy  received  a  check,  chiefly  in 
consequence  of  the  depravity  of  the  Papal  Court  and  its  surround- 
ings. With  the  return  of  the  Popes  to  Home  by  the  Decree  of 
the  Council  of  Constance  (1411-1418),  the  Papacy  recovered  its 
former  ground ;  but  this  recovery  of  the  lost  authority  was  ex- 
ternal only,  for  with  the  cruel  execution  of  John  Huss — which 
no  sensible  Eoman  Catholic  ever  thought  of  justifying — the 
Papacy  received  a  most  fatal  blow.  That  scandalous  crime  could 
not  have  been  committed  at  a  more  unpropitious  time  both  for  the 
Roman  hierarchy  and  the  dignity  of  the  Councils,  which  latter 
pretended,  at  times  at  least,  to  have  received  their  mandate 
immediately  from  Christ,  as  the  sovereign  representatives  of  the 
universal  Koman  Catholic  Church.  The  reforms  in  the  Church, 
advocated  by  the  celebrated  French  theologians  Cardinal  Peter 
d'Ailly  and  Chancellor  John  Gerson,  had  already  met  with  the 
approval  of  numerous  thinking  men,  and  the  doctrines  of  Wy cliffe 
had  also  found,  through  the  teaching  of  John  Huss  and  his 
disciples,  a  sympathetic  echo  in  the  hearts  of  a  large  portion  of 
the  Christian  community.  Had  the  Council  of  Constance  shown 
itself,  not  magnanimous,  but  merely  just,  towards  the  Bohemian 
Keformer,  the  ascendancy  of  the  Councils,  in  general,  over 
the  Popes,  would  probably  have  been  for  ever  established ; 
whilst  as  it  was,  the  next  great  Council — at  Basle  (1431- 
1449) — had  to  give  way  to  the  Pope,  and  the  Koman  hie- 
rarchy was  once  more  re-established  in  its  former  strength 
and  power. 

The  results  of  the  Councils  of  Constance  and  Basle  were, 
however,  particularly  disastrous  to  Germany.  The  former 
brought  about  the  terrible  wars  of  the  Hussites,  while  the 
latter  was  the  indirect  cause  of  placing  the  Imperial  power  in 
the  hands  of  Frederick  III.  (1440-1493),  who  was  a  staunch 
adherent  of  the  Pope  and  delivered  over  to  him  the  few  rights 
and  privileges  which  were  still  left  to  the  German  Empire.    The 


OF   THE   REFORMATION  xlv 

Imperial  dignity  existed  now  in  name  only  ;  for  Frederick,  who, 
as  Heeren  says,  "  had  slumbered  away  more  than  half  a  century 
on  the  throne,"  cared  so  little  for  Germany  proper,  that  he 
remained  absent  from  it  for  the  space  of  full  twenty-seven  years. 
No  wonder  then  that  whilst  the  Imperial  authority  sank  to  the 
lowest  level,  the  Papal  supremacy  rose  higher  than  ever,  and  the 
Emperor  became  nothing  more  than  the  satellite  of  the  Pope. 
Under  these  circumstances  the  German  Princes  began  to  raise 
the  voice  of  opposition  against  their  sluggish  head ;  but  as  he 
was  supported  by  the  influential  and  subtle  Pius  II.,  all  their 
efforts  to  make  a  stand  against  the  encroachments  of  the  Church 
were  in  vain. 

A  new  order  of  things  arose,  however,  when  Maximilian,  the 
son  of  Frederick  III.,  was  elected  "  Roman  King  "  in  1486  by  the 
Electoral  Princes.  The  young  King  acquiesced  in  the  consti- 
tutional demands  of  the  Estates  for  concessions  in  return  for 
various  grants.  Feuds  were  abolished  for  ever,  an  independent 
Chamber  of  Justice,  Kammergericht,  was  established,  and 
Germany  received  a  new  Imperial  constitution.  Nevertheless 
there  were  almost  constant  conflicts  between  the  adventurous 
Maximilian  and  the  Imperial  Estates,  so  that  the  national 
unity,  earnestly  aimed  at  by  both  parties,  could  not  be  effected, 
in  consequence  of  the  absence  of  any  connecting  link  between 
them.  The  only  step  which  Maximilian  took  for  the  partial 
emancipation  of  Germany  was  his  assumption  of  the  title  of 
"elected  King  of  Rome"  without  being  crowned  by  the  Pope, 
and  what  is  more,  he  also  adopted  the  ancient  title  of  King  of 
Germany.  This  designation  was,  however,  not  intended  to 
convey  at  the  same  time  the  notion  of  a  severance  from  Home 
in  spiritual  matters.  This  was  now  soon  to  be  accomplished, 
but  not  by  one  bearing  the  imaginary  crown  of  the  Caesars,  nor 
by  the  decrees  of  a  stately  assembly.  It  was  destined  for  one 
lowly  born  to  break  the  fatal  bondage  in  which  Germany  had 
been  for  centuries  kept  in  durance  vile  by  Eome. 


• 


THE    POLITICAL   COURSE 


II. 


One  of  the  few  blessings  which  Germany  derived  in  former 
times  from  her  otherwise  deplorable  decentralization,  was  the 
establishment,  throughout  the  country,  of  educational  and 
other  beneficial  institutions,  which  even  found  their  way  into 
the  most  obscure  nooks  and  corners,  where  under  other  political 
conditions  no  Government  would  have  thought  of  founding 
any  establishment  of  the  kind.  This  is  the  reason  why  culture 
and  learning — but  more  especially  the  latter — spread  more 
generally  in  Germany  than  in  other  countries.  What  great 
centralized  Government  would  ever  have  chosen  the  insigni- 
ficant place  of  "Wittenberg,  which  resembled  more  a  village 
than  a  town,  as  the  seat  of  an  University  ?  And  this,  too,  by 
the  side  of  the  Universities  of  Leipzig  and  Erfurt  which 
already  enjoyed  a  high  reputation  and  were  well  endowed? 
Yet  this  was  done  by  the  Prince  Elector  of  Saxony,  Frederick, 
surnamed  the  Wise.  He  had  himself  received  a  learned  educa- 
tion, and  it  was  his  legitimate  ambition  to  see  his  petty 
electoral  principality  adorned  by  a  High  School.  The  Elector 
himself  was,  as  is  well  known,  very  poor.  The  only  means  at 
his  disposal  for  such  a  learned  foundation  were  the  proceeds 
from  the  sale  of  Indulgences  in  his  Electorate,  which  had  been 
collected  in  1501  for  the  purpose  of  a  war  against  the  Turks. 
Those  moneys  were  deposited  with  him,  and  he  refused  to 
give  them  up  to  the  Pope  even  at  the  intercession  of  the 
Emperor,  unless  they  were  employed  for  the  purpose  for 
which  they  had  been  collected.  The  war  against  the  Turks 
was  not  undertaken  at  the  time,  and  so  Frederick  employed 
the  money  for  the  endowment  of  the  new  University.  It  was 
also  a  significant  fact,  that  Wittenberg  was  the  first  German 
University  which  did  not  receive  its  "  Charter  "  from  the  Pope, 
but  from  the  then  Emperor  of  Germany — Maximilian  I.  The 
Prince  Elector  hit  further  upon  the  expedient  of  connecting 
several  clerical  benefices  with  some  of  the  professorial  chairs, 


OF   THE    REFORMATION  xlvii 

and  he  hoped,  moreover,  that  the  members  of  the  Augustine 
Order,  settled  at  Wittenberg,  would  furnish  some  teachers  for  the 
learned  institution,  which  was  established  by  him  in  1502.  The 
connection  of  the  new  University  with  that  Order  was  in  many 
respects  an  intimate  one.  It  was  specially  dedicated  to  St. 
Augustine ;  and  Staupitz,  the  vicar  of  that  Order  at  Erfurt, 
was  the  first  Dean  of  the  Theological  Faculty.  Through  his 
influence  it  was  that  several  Augustine  monks  received  a 
call  to  the  University,  and  among  those  who  responded  was 
the  monk  Martin  Luther. 

The  early  history  of  the  poor  miner's  son  may,  in  fact, 
serve  as  an  illustration  of  the  wholesome  spread  of  education 
throughout  Germany.  Poor  as  his  parents  were,  he  had 
received  a  learned  education,  and  became,  in  consequence  of  the 
religious  turn  of  his  mind,  a  monk.  It  was  then  in  his  double 
capacity  of  scholar  and  priest  that  he  became  connected  with  the 
University  of  Wittenberg  (1508),  and  composed,  and  sent  forth 
into  the  world,  his  famous  95  Theses,1  against  the  wholesale 
disposal  of  Indulgences  (31st  Oct.,  1517).  Luther  issued  his 
challenge  to  the  theological  world  from  religious  motives  only, 
and  it  so  happened  that  it  fully  coincided  with  the  political 
views  of  the  Elector ;  but,  to  the  credit  of  both  Prince  and 
monk,  it  should  be  remembered  that  there  was  no  mutual 
understanding  between  them.  They  had  never  seen  each 
other  before  the  publication  of  the  95  Theses;  nor  did  they 
correspond  on  the  subject,  although  they  were  of  one  accord 
about  it.  Frederick  always  viewed  it  with  disfavour,  and 
begrudged  that  such  large  amounts  of  money  should  be  sent 
to  Kome  under  the  cloak  of  Indulgences,  and  we  have  seen 
how  he  had  employed  the  proceeds  resulting  from  their  former 
sale.  Now,  however,  he  must  have  objected  still  more  to  the 
attempt  to  drain  his  poor  country,  because  the  object  of  the 
sale  was  not  a  holy  war — if  ever  a  war  can  be  so  called — but 
the  alleged  erection  of  St.  Peter's  Church.  If  such  was  really 
the  case,  it  might  be  truly  said  that  Leo  X.  undermined  the 
1  Cp.  pp.  1-12  in  this  volume. 


xlviii  THE    POLITICAL    COURSE 

Chair  of  St.  Peter  for  the  sake  of  the  Church  of  St.  Peter. 
But  people  were  incredulous.  It  was  whispered,  that  the 
Pope  required  the  money  for  the  benefit  of  his  family. 
Another  disagreeable  element  in  the  whole  transaction  was 
the  then  commonly  known  fact,  that  the  Archbishop  of 
Mentz  had  actually  "  farmed "  the  sale  of  the  Indulgences 
in  his  own  episcopal  territory  on  condition  that  one  half  of 
the  proceeds  should  fall  to  his  share.  He  had  promised  to 
bear  the  expenses  of  obtaining  the  Pall  himself,  and  having 
borrowed  a  considerable  amount  of  money  from  the  celebrated 
house  of  Fugger,  he  allowed  their  agents  to  travel  about  in 
company  with  the  notorious  Tetzel,  as  commercial  controllers, 
and  to  take  possession  of  half  of  the  proceeds  as  they  came  in. 
Through  this  and  other  circumstances  the  affair  assumed  the 
ugly  aspect  of  a  very  worldly  and  mercenary  transaction, 
carried  on  in  the  meanest  spirit.  There  was,  besides,  a  tension 
between  Frederick  and  the  Prince  Elector  of  Mentz ;  it  was, 
therefore,  natural  that  the  step  which  Luther  had  taken  should 
meet  with  his  tacit  approval.  More  than  this  Luther  did  not 
expect,  for  he  well  knew  the  lethargic  character  of  Frederick ; 
but  under  the  circumstances  that  was  quite  sufficient,  for  the 
latter  granted  him  shelter  and  protection,  in  spite  of  the 
urgent  entreaties  of  zealots  to  deliver  up  the  bold  Augustinian 
monk  at  once  to  Eome. 

The  defence  of  the  95  Theses,  which  Luther  transmitted 
to  the  Pope,  was  of  no  avail ;  for  Leo  X.,  urged  by  the 
fanatical  Dominican  Prierias — so  notorious  from  the  Keuchlin 
trial — cited  the  Wittenberg  monk  before  an  inquisitorial 
tribunal  at  Eome.  Now  for  the  first  time  it  was  seen  how 
fortunate  it  was  for  Luther  and  the  cause  he  defended,  that  he 
had  found  a  prudent  and  humane  protector  in  the  Prince  who 
exercised  sovereign  power  in  his  own  limited  territory.  To 
repair  to  Rome  under  the  accusation  of  heresy  would  have  been 
like  plunging  with  open  eyes  into  an  abyss.  Confiding  and 
courageous  as  Luther  was,  he  saw  this  himself  very  clearly, 
and  it  was  at   his   request   that    the    Saxon    Court  preacher, 


OF   THE    REFORMATION  xlix 

Spalatin,  who  was  one  of  his  most  constant  and  zealous  friends, 
persuaded  the  Emperor  Maximilian  as  well  as  the  Prince 
Elector — both  of  whom  were  at  that  time  (1518)  at  the  Diet 
of  Augsburg — that  the  accused  monk  should  be  arraigned 
before  a  German  tribunal.  Frederick  readily  acquiesced, 
although,  as  he  repeatedly  declared,  he  did  not  fully  share  the 
views  of  Luther;  and  the  Emperor  also  consented,  partly 
because  he  required  the  moral  support  of  the  Prince  Elector  at 
the  approaching  election  of  a  successor  in  the  Imperial  dignity, 
and  partly  because  he  hoped  one  day  to  make  use  of  the 
enlightened  monk,  in  his  endeavour  to  bring  about  the  much- 
needed  reforms  in  the  Church.  In  this  sense  it  undoubtedly 
was,  that  he  said  to  Frederick's  councillor,  Pfeffinger :  "  Luther 
is  sure  to  begin  a  game  with  the  priests.  The  Prince  Elector 
should  take  good  care  of  the  monk,  as  he  might  one  day  be  of 
use."  It  seems,  therefore,  that  both  friends  and  foes  recog- 
nised (at  an  early  stage)  the  great  capacity  which  still  lay 
hidden  in  the  insignificant-looking  monk.  The  Papal  Nuncio, 
Cajetan,  discovered  at  once,  in  his  interview  with  him  at 
Augsburg  (1518),  that  he  had  to  do  with  a  superior  power, 
when  he  heard  the  conclusive  and  thoughtful  arguments  of  the 
Augustinian  monk,  and  saw  the  divine  fire  of  genius  flashing 
from  his  eyes ;  and  his  friends  already  considered  him  of 
importance  sufficient  to  induce  them  to  bring  about  his  sudden 
escape  at  night-time. 

Urged  by  the  wrathful  Papal  Legate  not  to  disgrace  the 
honour  of  his  Electoral  house  by  giving  shelter  to  a  heretic 
friar,  Frederick,  encouraged  by  his  own  University,  drily  replied 
that  as  no  scholar,  either  in  his  own  or  in  foreign  lands,  had  as 
yet  refuted  the  theories  of  Luther,  he  would  continue  to  give 
him  shelter  until  that  was  dene.  This  was  no  subterfuge  on 
the  part  of  Frederick.  It  was  the  key-note  of  his  conduct,  from 
the  beginning  of  the  Eeformation  to  the  end  of  his  own  life,  to 
have  the  teachings  of  Luther  properly  tested  by  a  learned 
discussion.  The  Pope,  being  desirous  of  securing  the  Elector's 
co-operation  at  the  impending  Imperial  election,  humoured  his 

d 


1  THE   POLITICAL   COURSE 

learned  whim,  and  tried  to  win  him  over  by  unctuous  kindliness. 
Frederick  was  still  a  staunch  Eoman  Catholic.  He  possessed  a 
regular  treasure  of  reliques — partly  brought  home  from  the 
Holy  Land — which  were  displayed  for  the  spiritual  benefit  of 
the  devout  on  certain  occasions,  and  it  was  known  that  he  was 
yearning  for  the  acquisition  of  the  Golden  Rose.  Leo  X. 
bestowed,  therefore,  on  him  that  mark  of  apostolic  favour,  and 
dispatched  to  him  as  his  Nuncio  the  Elector's  own  agent  at 
Eome,  Carl  von  Miltitz,  a  native  of  Saxony. 

What  the  imperious  haughtiness  of  the  pompous  Papal 
Legate  was  unable  to  achieve  was,  partly  at  least,  effected  by 
the  shrewd  bonhomie  of  Miltitz.  He  imploringly  appealed  to 
Luther's  German  good-nature,  not  to  create  any  scandal  in  the 
Church,  and  after  having  agreed  that  the  controversy  should 
be  submitted  for  investigation  to  the  Archbishops  of  Wiirzburg 
and  Treves,  he  obtained  the  promise  of  Luther  to  observe 
perfect  silence  on  religious  matters,  provided  his  enemies  would 
do  the  same,  and  to  write  an  apologetic  letter  to  the  Pope.  It 
is  well  known  how  badly  the  antagonists  of  Luther  kept  faith 
with  him,  and  that  he  was  obliged,  in  consequence,  to  break 
his  conditionally  promised  silence,  and  to  take  part  in  the 
great  public  Disputation  at  Leipzig,  in  1519.  He  now  had  to 
vindicate  against  Dr.  Eck,  his  most  bitter  opponent,  not  only 
his  own  honour,  but  also  that  of  his  University,  and  this  cir- 
cumstance formed  the  subject  of  his  justification  before  the 
Prince  Elector,  to  whose  personal  esteem  he  attached  the 
highest  value.  When,  however,  that  Disputation  ended,  as  is 
the  case  with  most  learned  discussions,  in  something  like  a 
drawn  battle,  Luther  was  driven  to  a  declaration  virtually 
involving  his  secession  from  Eome. 

III. 

About  the  time  when  the  celebrated  Disputation  was  going 
on  at  Leipzig,  in  which  two  peasants'  sons — for  Dr.  Eck  was, 
like   Martin   Luther,   the    son   of  a   peasant — took    the    most 


OP   THE   REFORMATION  li 

prominent  part,  another  momentous  gathering  took  place  at 
Frankfort-on-the-Main.  The  Emperor  Maximilian  had  died  on 
12th  January,  1519,  without  being  able  to  secure  the  succes- 
sion in  the  royal  dignity  to  his  grandson  Charles,  Archduke 
of  Austria  and  King  of  Spain  and  Naples.  More  than  five 
months  elapsed  before  the  Electoral  Princes  assembled  for  the 
election  of  a  new  Emperor,  and  during  that  interval  the 
"Vicariate  of  the  Empire,"  as  it  was  styled,  was  put  into  the 
hands  of  Lewis  V.  of  the  Palatinate,  and  of  Frederick  the  "Wise,  in 
accordance  with  a  provision  of  the  "  Golden  Bull,"  which  placed 
the  Eegency  of  the  Empire,  during  a  vacancy,  in  the  hands  of 
the  rulers  of  those  Electorates  for  the  time  being.  The  cir- 
cumstance that  the  seat  of  the  Imperial  Government  was  at 
Wittenberg  during  the  present  short  Interregnum  bestowed 
not  a  little  lustre  both  on  Frederick  and  his  University ;  but 
the  work  of  the  incipient  Eeformation  was  not  particularly 
promoted  by  it,  because  it  coincided  with  the  truce  which  Luther 
faithfully  kept  until  it  was  faithlessly  broken  by  his  antagonists. 

There  were  three  aspirants  to  the  Imperial  throne  of 
Germany.  First  and  foremost  Maximilian's  grandson  Charles, 
Archduke  of  Austria ;  secondly,  Francis  I.,  King  of  France,  and 
thirdly,  Henry  VIII.  of  England.  The  last-named  monarch 
did  not,  however,  seriously  press  his  candidature.  It  was  only 
when  he  saw  the  two  other  sovereigns  contending  for  the  prize 
that  he  deemed  the  moment  favourable  for  securing  it  to 
himself.  When  he  received,  however,  the  practical  hint  that  the 
barren  honour  would  not  be  worth  the  trouble  and  the  necessary 
expenditure,  and  when,  moreover,  it  was  taken  into  account, 
that  since  the  introduction  of  Christianity  into  England  this 
country  did  in  no  way  belong  to  the  "  Holy  Eoman  Empire," 
he  prudently  retired  from  all  competition.  Not  so  the  am- 
bitious Francis  I.,  who  spared  neither  promises  nor  bribes  to 
secure  his  election,  and  obtained  a  party  among  the  Electoral 
Princes. 

If  it  should  be  asked,  how  it  was  actually  possible  that 
foreign  kings  ever  thought  of  aspiring  to  a  throne  to  which 

d  2 


lii  THE    POLITICAL   COURSE 

they  had  not  even  the  shadow  of  a  claim,  the  reason  must  be 
found  in  the  above-mentioned  circumstance,  that  the  Imperial 
dignity  of  Germany  was  not  a  national  institution,  and  that 
any  Christian  prince  might  think  himself  justified  in  aspiring  to 
the  crown  of  the  "  Holy  Eoman  Empire,"  accidentally  bestowed 
upon  the  "  German  nation."  Were  they  not  aware  that  in 
the  thirteenth  century  two  ecclesiastical  Electoral  Princes 
raised  to  the  German  throne,  Eichard  of  Cornwall  and  King 
Alfonso  of  Castile,  respectively,  in  consideration  of  great 
bribes  ?  And  had  not  the  French  King  sufficient  wealth  to 
buy  the  votes  of  both  the  secular  and  ecclesiastic  Electoral 
Princes  ?  He  had,  moreover,  the  precedent  before  him,  that 
Philip  VI.  of  Valois  had,  about  a  century  before,  endea- 
voured to  transfer  the  dignity  of  the  "  Holy  Eoman  Empire  " 
from  the  Germans  to  the  "  Franks,"  to  whom  it  originally 
belonged. 

Both  the  French  and  Austrians  lavishly  distributed  money 
in  all  directions.  Frederick  the  Wise  alone  kept  his  hands 
pure,  and  he  strictly  prohibited  even  his  officials  and  servants 
from  accepting  any  presents.  For  a  moment  the  Princes  had 
turned  their  eyes  to  Frederick  himself.  But  he  had  no  confi- 
dence in  his  capability  to  sustain  worthily  and  efficiently  the 
functions  incumbent  upon  the  Imperial  dignity.  The  Empire, 
as  such,  invested  him  with  no  material  power  and  resources, 
and  his  own  dynastic  power  was  insignificant.  How  should  he 
be  able  to  hold  his  own  against  the  ambitious  and  frequently 
turbulent  Princes  ?  Why,  even  under  the  "  Imperial  Vicariate," 
the  peace  of  the  land  was  broken.  He,  therefore,  declined  the 
proffered  honour,  and  the  Princes,  fearing  lest  the  powerful 
French  King  should  curb  their  independence,  suddenly  re- 
membered that  he  was  a  foreign  sovereign,  and  that  in  order 
to  keep  up  the  national  freedom  of  the  Empire,  they  should 
give  the  preference  to  the  Archduke  Charles,  who  was, 
partially  at  least,  of  German  descent.  The  latter,  to  whom 
also  Frederick  of  Saxony  finally  gave  his  vote,  was  accordingly 
chosen  Emperor,  and  he  soon  proved  that  it  is  not  always  the 


OF   THE   REFORMATION  liii 

kinship  which  constitutes  the  sympathetic  bond  between  a 
sovereign  and  his  subjects. 

The  time  which  elapsed  from  the  election  of  Charles  to  his 
arrival  in  Germany,  more  especially  to  his  presence  at  the 
Diet  of  Augsburg  in  1521,  was  most  propitious  for  the  spread 
of  the  work  of  Luther.  It  may  be  said  that  during  that 
interval  the  Eeformation  assumed  shape  and  form.  Luther 
indefatigably  continued  to  inculcate  his  religious  principles  on 
the  minds  of  the  people  by  sermons  and  numerous  publications, 
and  he  found  adherents  so  readily  everywhere  among  all  classes 
of  the  German  nation,  that  Frederick,  who  still  hoped  the 
schism  might  be  prevented  by  learned  discussions,  was  of 
opinion,  that  if  it  should  be  attempted  to  suppress  his  teachings 
by  force  instead  of  by  refutation,  there  would  arise  a  great 
storm  in  Germany.  Several  distinguished  members  of  the 
lower  nobility,  such  as  the  brave  Hutten  and  the  martial 
Sickingen  and  many  others,  placed  their  swords  at  the  disposal 
of  Luther ;  the  former  was  already  active  for  him  with  the  all- 
powerful  weapon  of  the  pen.  Amidst  this  general  commotion 
the  humble  Augustinian  monk  sent  forth  his  powerful  appeal, 
entitled  :  "  To  the  Christian  Nobility  of  the  German  Nation 
concerning  the  Eeformation  of  the  Christian  Estate."  *  This 
production,  which  is  rightly  considered  as  the  manifesto  of  the 
Eeformation,  clearly  shows  that  Luther  not  only  saw  the 
clerical  abuses,  but  also  the  political  disadvantages  under  which 
Germany  laboured  and  groaned.  He  was  not  what  we  should 
call  a  politician,  but,  unlike  so  many  of  his  learned  country- 
men, he  had  a  true  patriotic  instinct.  The  mere  title  of  the 
appeal  seems  already  to  contain  a  protest  against  the  designa- 
tion of  Germany  as  the  Holy  Eoman  Empire.  That  he 
addressed  his  appeal  to  the  "  Nobility  "  in  general  is  only  an 
additional  proof  of  the  remarkable  tact  which  guided  him 
throughout  his  career. 

Some  historians  have  blamed  Luther  for  not  having  appealed 
to  the  "  People."  But  the  reproach  is  wrong.  The  German 
1  Op.  pp.  15-92  in  this  volume. 


liv  THE    POLITICAL   COURSE 

people  in  general  had  no  power  whatever  in  those  days.  It 
only  obtained  in  the  course  of  time  a  voice  in  the  manage- 
ment of  public  affairs  through  the  Eeformation.  It  was 
Luther  who  proclaimed  the  freedom  of  man,  or  rather  the 
"  Christian  man."  The  acknowledgment  of  political  rights  of 
the  middle  classes  may,  therefore,  be  said  to  date  from  the 
Eeformation  only.  In  appealing  to  the  German  Nobility, 
Luther  addressed  himself  to  the  legitimate  representatives  of 
Germany ;  and  he  did  so  in  the  candid  belief,  that  it  was  only 
necessary  to  open  the  eyes  of  those  in  power,  in  order  to  effect 
at  once  the  abolition  of  any  abuses.  To  address  himself  to  the 
people,  would  have  required  his  placing  himself  at  the  head  of  a 
revolution ;  but  Luther  was  no  revolutionist.  It  should  also  be 
remembered  that  a  large  number  of  noblemen  had  offered  him 
support  and  shelter.  Political  power  lay  mainly  in  the  hands  of 
the  nobles,  who  alone,  in  conjunction  with  the  Emperor,  could 
decide  on  the  destiny  of  Germany.  It  is,  however,  a  significant 
fact,  that  he  wrote  his  appeal,  not  in  Latin,  but  in  German. 
In  this  way,  indeed,  he  actually  addressed  himself  to  the 
German  people. 

In  the  meantime  Leo  X.  had  hurled  his  Bull  of  excommunica- 
tion against  Luther.  When  it  arrived  at  Wittenberg  both  the 
University  and  the  Government  of  the  Prince  Elector  decided 
to  take  no  notice  of  it,  and  now  it  again  became  manifest  what 
a  powerful  support  Luther  had  found  in  Frederick.  On  his 
return  journey  from  the  coronation  of  Charles  V.  at  Aix-la- 
Chapelle,  in  1520,  the  Papal  Legates  Aleander  and  Caraccioli 
demanded  of  the  Elector,  at  Cologne,  in  the  name  of  the  Pope,  to 
give  effect  to  the  Bull  by  burning  the  writings  of  Luther  and 
punishing  him  as  a  heretic,  or  to  deliver  him  to  the  Pope. 
The  threat  uttered  on  this  occasion  was  certainly  curious.  In 
case  the  Papal  Bull  should  not  meet  with  ready  obedience  in 
Germany,  the  Legates  menaced  the  country  with  the  with- 
drawal of  the  title  of  the  "  Holy  Koman  Empire."  Germany 
would  forfeit  that  dignity  in  the  same  way  as  the  Greeks 
had  lost   it   after    having   seceded   from    the   Pope.     A   more 


OF   THE   REFORMATION  Iv 

fortunate  fate,  in  truth,  could  not  have  befallen  the  German 
Empire  than  its  total  political  severance  from  Eome ;  but  in 
those  clays  the  empty  glory  of  the  baneful  union  was  still  highly 
valued,  and  so  the  Elector  asked  time  to  consider. 

Erasmus,  whom  Frederick  consulted,  clothed  his  opinion  on 
the  religious  controversy  in  the  humorous  reply,  "  that  Luther 
had  sinned  in  two  points  :  he  had  touched  the  crown  of  the 
Pope  and  the  bellies  of  the  monks."  In  his  interview  with 
Spalatin  he  was  still  more  explicit,  by  expressing  his  con- 
viction, that  the  attacks  against  Luther  arose  simply  from 
hatred  against  the  enlightenment  of  science  and  from  tyran- 
nical presumption.  He  further  agreed  with  Luther  in  in- 
sisting on  the  question  being  examined  and  tried  by  the 
tribunal  of  public  discussion.  We  know  that  this  opinion 
fully  coincided  with  the  views  of  the  Elector,  and  his  answer 
to  the  threatening  Papal  Legates  ran  in  accordance  with  his 
views.  His  additional  and  often-repeated  assurance,  that  he 
had  never  made  common  cause  with  Luther,  and  that  he  would 
greatly  disapprove  of  it,  if  the  latter  wrote  anything  adverse 
to  the  Pope,  was  of  the  greatest  importance.  This  declaration 
was  more  decisive  than  if  he  had  acknowledged  himself  openly 
in  favour  of  the  Keformer ;  he  would  then  have  been  considered 
as  a  biassed  partisan,  whilst  now  he  only  played  the  part  of  an 
impartial  patron,  who  wished  to  see  his  protege  judged  by  a 
fair  trial.  On  his  return  to  Saxony,  Frederick  sent  to  Luther 
a  reassuring  message,  and  the  latter  continued  his  work  by 
teaching,  writing  and  preaching,  unmolested  and  without 
remission. 

In  other  parts  of  Germany  the  Papal  Bull  was  proclaimed 
with  varying  and  unequal  effect.  Luther's  works  were  in  the 
first  instance  burnt  at  Louvain,  by  command  of  Charles  V.,  in  his 
capacity  of  hereditary  sovereign  of  the  Netherlands.  The  same 
fate  befell  them  at  Cologne  and  Mentz.  It  will,  therefore, 
readily  be  acknowledged  that  it  was  the  Pope  and  his  over- 
zealous  adherents  who  drove  Luther  to  the  committal  of  perhaps 
the  boldest  act  ever  accomplished  by  a  single  individual,  more 


lvi  THE   POLITICAL   COURSE 

especially  by  one  in  Luther's  dependent  position.  By  the 
public  burning  of  the  Papal  Bull  before  the  Elstergate  of 
Wittenberg  (1520),  the  act  of  secession  from  Borne  was 
consummated.  What  no  Emperor  had  dared  before  him,  the 
humble  Augustine  monk  accomplished  courageously  and  de- 
liberately. Well  might  he  do  so.  He  acted  on  conviction 
with  that  moral  courage  which  knows  no  fear,  and  he  had  the 
German  people  at  his  back  to  support  him.1 

IV. 

"  Your  majesty  must  go  to  Germany  and  show  there  some 
favour  to  a  certain  Martin  Luther,  who  is  at  the  Court  of 
Saxony  and  causes  anxiety  to  the  Boman  Court  by  his  sermons." 
Such  were  the  words  which  the  shrewd  Spanish  ambassador, 
Don  Juan  Manuel,  addressed  to  Charles  V.  from  Borne  in  1520. 
They  were  written  at  a  time  when  it  was  still  doubtful 
whether  Leo  X.  would  side  in  the  impending  struggle  in  Italy 
with  the  King  of  France  or  with  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  and 
moreover  at  a  time  when  the  latter  had  reason  to  be  dissatisfied 
with  the  course  the  Pope  had  taken.  Leo  X.  had  consented,  in 
compliance  with  a  petition  from  the  Castilian  Cortes,  to  introduce 
some  reforms  in  the  exercise  of  the  Inquisition.  This  con- 
cession was,  however,  entirely  opposed  to  the  views  of  the 
young  Emperor,  who  was  completely  guided  by  his  Dominican 
confessor.  Under  these  circumstances  it  was  deemed  expedient 
to  make  use  of  Luther  as  a  kind  of  bugbear  in  order  to  frighten 
the  Pope.  To  people  not  accustomed  to  the  tortuous  windings 
of  politics  it  seems,  of  course,  bewildering,  that  a  heretic  should 
be  favoured  in  one  country,  in  order  to  make  it  possible  to 
enforce  the  rigours  of  the  Inquisition  in  another  country. 
In  like  manner  Francis  I.  acted.  In  France  he  persecuted  and 
burnt  mercilessly  the  opponents  of  the  Boman  Catholic  Church, 

1  In   one  of  his   letters   to   Dr.  Eck — communicated  in   the  Documenta 
Lutherana  recently  issued  by  the  Vatican — the  Papal  Nuncio  Aleander  con- 
fesses, that  the  excitement  in  consequence  of  the  burning  of  Luther's  work 
was  so  great  among  the  people,  that  he  trembled  for  his  own  safety. 


OF   THE   REFORMATION  lvii 

whilst  in  Germany  he  befriended  the  adherents  of  the  Re- 
formation. This  much,  however,  is  certain,  had  Luther  enter- 
tained the  slightest  suspicion  at  what  price  it  was  intended 
to  extend  indulgence  to  his  work,  he  would  have  been  the  first 
to  scorn  that  indulgence. 

The  advice  of  the  diplomatic  Spanish  ambassador  was, 
however,  not  followed.  Pope  and  Emperor  came  to  an  amicable 
understanding.  The  former  cancelled  his  concession  to  the 
Castilian  Cortes,  and  promised  the  coveted  assistance  against 
Francis  I.,  in  Italy,  whilst  the  latter  pledged  himself  to  crush  the 
Eeformation  and  to  issue  an  Edict  for  the  execution  of  the 
Papal  Bull  against  Luther.  Now  it  came  to  light  how  ill- 
advised  was  the  election  of  Charles  Y.  as  Emperor  of  Germany. 
At  the  time  when  the  celebrated  Diet  of  1521  assembled  at 
Worms,  the  Emperor  had  his  whole  attention  directed  across 
the  Alps.  The  affairs  of  Germany  had  only  in  so  far  any  im- 
portance for  him  as  they  had  any  influence  or  bearing  on  the 
affairs  of  Italy.  He  took  no  note  of  the  great  objects  which 
then  agitated  the  hearts  and  minds  of  the  Germans,  and  had  he 
been  able  to  recognise  them,  they  would  have  excited  in  him  no 
corresponding  sympathy  for  them.  He  did  not  even  fully  under- 
stand the  cultured  language — as  far  as  it  existed  in  those  days 
— of  Germany,  being  able  to  speak  Low  German  only.  The 
political  institutions  of  the  country — the  lingering  fragments 
of  the  ancient  German  liberty — were  thoroughly  distasteful  to 
him.  He  was  also  a  bigoted  Roman  Catholic  at  heart,  and — as 
we  have  seen — entirely  opposed  to  all  religious  reforms.  It 
must,  therefore,  be  acknowledged,  that  among  the  many  histor- 
ical misfortunes  which  have  befallen  Germany — and  no  country 
perhaps  has  been  tried  by  so  many — the  accession  of  Charles  V. 
to  the  throne  of  the  German  Empire  was  one  of  the  greatest. 
What  might  a  German  sovereign,  with  a  due  appreciation  of 
the  political  and  religious  aspirations  of  the  people,  not  have 
achieved  at  that  important  epoch,  which  was  the  turning-point 
in  the  history  of  Germany  ! 

After  the  Emperor  had  laid  his  Edict  regarding  the  Papal 


lviii  THE   POLITICAL   COUESE 

Bull  before  the  Estates,  they  made  him  earnest  representa- 
tions, alleging  that  the  people  were  throughout  Germany  so 
thoroughly  impregnated  by  the  doctrines  of  Luther,  that  any 
violent  measures  undertaken  against  him  would  call  forth  the 
greatest  commotion.  They  submitted,  therefore,  to  Charles 
the  opinion  that  the  Eeformer  should  be  summoned  to  Worms, 
not  for  the  sake  of  any  argumentative  or  learned  disputa- 
tion, but  merely  for  a  summary  interrogatory.  In  case  he 
should  recant  his  doctrines  concerning  the  Christian  faith, 
he  might  further  be  interrogated  about  the  minor  points  in  his 
writings,  and  whatever  was  advisable  should  be  adopted.  If, 
however,  he  persisted  in  his  refusal  to  recant,  the  necessary 
steps  would  be  taken  against  him.  We  see  by  this  that  the 
Estates  drew  a  distinction  in  Luther's  doctrines  between  those 
points  which  concerned  the  ecclesiastical  administration  only, 
and  those  which  referred  to  the  Christian  faith  proper  and 
were  chiefly  contained  in  his  work  '  On  the  Babylonish  Cap- 
tivity of  the  Church.' x 

Charles  V.  consented  to  this  -proposal,  by  which  the  Estates 
may  be  said  to  have  betrayed  the  cause  of  the  Eeformation. 
Frederick  was  charged  with  the  task  of  summoning  Luther  to 
Worms,  but  he  prudently  declined.  As  he  was  to  be  summoned 
in  the  name  of  the  Emperor  and  the  Estates,  he  ought  to  receive 
the  citation  direct  from  them.  The  stubborn  character  of  the 
Elector  being  well  known,  the  Emperor  was  obliged  to  yield 
also  on  this  point,  and  in  order  to  be  consistent  with  official 
etiquette,  Luther  was  addressed  by  Charles  V.  in  the  citation, 
issued  on  March  6,  1521,  as  "honourable,  beloved,  and  pious!" 
A  safe  conduct  for  the  journey  to  and  from  Worms  accompanied 
the  citation.  A  man  less  endowed  with  moral  courage  than 
Luther  would  nevertheless  have  shrunk  from  completing  the 
journey.  On  his  way  to  Worms  he  learned  that  a  Mandate  for 
the  confiscation  of  his  writings  had  been  issued  by  the  Emperor, 
and  the  Imperial  herald  actually  asked  him,  whether  he  still 
intended  to  continue  his  journey.  The  Eeformer  undauntedly 
1  See  pp.  139-243  in  the  present  volume. 


OF   THE    REFORMATION  lix 

proceeded  on  his  way,  although  the  Imperial  Mandate  clearly 
showed  him  that  his  writings  had  already  been  uncon- 
ditionally condemned,  and  that  he  was  merely  summoned  to 
declare  whether  he  would  recant  or  not. 

Luther's  appearance  before  the  Diet  of  Worms  may  be 
considered  as  the  first  official  recognition  of  the  German  people 
as  a  power ;  for  it  was  only  by  representing  the  danger  which 
would  arise  from  the  unconditional  condemnation  of  the  Eeformer 
before  being  heard,  that  the  Emperor  was  induced  to  consent  to 
the  step  which  was  resented  by  the  Papal  Legate  and  his  party. 
The  wrath  of  Aleander  greatly  increased,  when  the  Imperial 
Estates  presented  to  Charles  V.  their  gravamina  respecting  the 
abuses  of  the  Church,  the  abolition  of  which  they  had  a  right 
to  expect  in  accordance  with  the  capitulation  made  at  the  time 
of  the  Emperor's  election.  That  petition,  which  is  generally 
regarded  as  a  pendant  to  Luther's  programme  of  the  Keforma- 
tion,  as  contained  in  his  address  to  the  "  Christian  Nobility  of 
the  German  Nation,"  and  which  had  even  obtained  the 
approval  of  George,  Duke  of  Saxony  (that  great  opponent  of 
Luther),  was,  formally  at  least,  "  graciously  "  received  by  the 
Emperor. 

When  Luther  arrived  at  Worms  both  his  adherents  and 
antagonists  were  startled.  The  former  trembled  for  his  safety, 
and  the  latter  feared  the  influence  of  his  presence — his  elo- 
quence and  the  victorious  power  of  inner  conviction.  The 
Emperor's  expectations  of  so  remarkable  a  personage — who  was 
capable  of  inspiring  such  a  high  degree  of  enthusiasm  and 
aversion— must,  therefore,  have  been  very  great,  and  we  do 
not  wonder  at  his  disappointment  on  seeing  before  him  an 
insignificant-looking  monk.  He  did  not  believe  in  the  power 
of  the  mind,  and  it  was  quite  natural  in  the  young  monarch 
that  he  should  have  looked  forward  to  a  commanding,  giant- 
like figure,  with  a  thundering  voice,  somewhat  like  Dr. 
Eck,  who  derived  no  little  benefit  from  these  accessories,  so 
advantageous  both  on  the  political  and  religious  platform. 
Even  after  Luther  had  produced— on  the  second  day  of  his 


ix  THE   POLITICAL   COURSE 

appearance  before  the  Diet — a  deep  impression  on  almost  all 
his  hearers,  Charles  V.  could  never  be  brought  to  believe  that 
the  meek  Augustinian  monk  was  the  author  of  all  the  energetic 
and  impetuous  compositions  which  passed  under  his  name. 

Luther's  public  refusal  to  recant  unless  convinced  of  his 
error  through  the  Scriptures,  was  the  official  proclamation  of 
the  Keformation,  and  well  might  he  exclaim,  on  the  evening  of 
the  18th  of  April,  on  coming  home  from  perhaps  the  most 
memorable  sitting  of  any  Diet — "  Ich  bin  durch  !  "  But  the 
decision  of  the  Emperor  was  also  taken,  and  on  the  morning  of 
the  19th  of  April  he  declared  to  the  Diet — in  a  French  docu- 
ment written  in  his  own  hand — "  that  as  a  descendant  of  the 
most  Christian  German  Emperors,  and  the  Catholic  Kings  of 
Spain,  he  had  resolved  to  maintain  everything  which  had  been 
adopted  by  his  ancestors,  more  especially  at  the  Council  of 
Constance.  .  .  .  That  he  will  not  hear  Luther  again,  but  let 
him  go  back  to  Wittenberg  in  accordance  with  his  safe  conduct, 
and  then  he  will  proceed  with  him  as  a  heretic." 

The  fanatic  advisers  of  the  Emperor  certainly  wished  that  he 
should  not  only  strictly  adhere  to  the  doctrines  confirmed  by 
the  Diet  of  Constance,  but  that  he  also  should  follow  its 
example,  set  by  the  execution  of  Huss,  with  respect  to  Luther ; 
for  the  simple  reason  "  that  there  is  no  need  of  keeping  faith 
with  heretics."  Charles  V.  had,  however,  not  been  informed 
in  vain  of  the  disposition  of  the  people  regarding  the  Ke- 
former.  He  also  took  into  account  the  views  of  the  Imperial 
Estates. 

The  times  had  evidently  changed  since  the  Council  of  Con- 
stance. It  was  no  longer  safe  to  burn  a  heretic  after  he  had 
received  Imperial  protection ;  and  it  may  be  assumed  futhermore 
that  the  young  monarch  also  possessed  too  much  sense  of  honour 
to  listen  to  the  ruthless  suggestions  of  his  fanatical  advisers. 
After  some  more  attempts  to  induce  Luther  to  retract — all  of 
which,  of  course,  proved  futile — he  allowed  him  to  depart ; 
but  as  he  had  uttered  the  threat  to  treat  the  excommunicated 
monk  as  a  heretic,  after  the  expiration  of  his  safe  conduct, 


OP   THE   REFORMATION  lxi 

Frederick,  who  was  not  undeservedly  called  the  Wise,  con- 
sidered it  expedient  to  bring  Luther,  by  means  of  a  stratagem, 
to  a  place  of  safety. 

The  sudden  disappearance  of  Luther  naturally  caused  great 
anxiety  among  his  adherents  ;  but  his  opponents  seemed  to  have 
instinctively  guessed  the  truth.  They  knew  very  well  how 
little  they  themselves  were  to  be  trusted,  and  suspected  that  his 
friends  had  secretly  saved  him  from  their  clutches.  Cardinal 
Eleander  even  went  nearer  the  mark,  and  expressed  his  opinion, 
that  the  "  Saxon  fox  "  had  hidden  the  monk.  Charles  V.  him- 
self took  no  cognisance  of  the  occurrence;  nay,  he  even  cautiously 
deferred  the  promulgation  of  the  Edict  against  Luther,  and  it 
was  only  after  Frederick  the  Wise,  accompanied  by  the  Palatine 
Elector,  had  left  Worms  on  account  of  illness,  that  the  Emperor 
summoned  to  his  private  residence  the  three  clerical  Electors, 
together  with  the  Elector  of  Brandenburg,  and  several  other 
members  of  the  Imperial  Estates,  and  communicated  to  them  the 
long-expected  Edict.  The  Imperial  ban  was  thus  promulgated 
on  May  25,  without  the  formal  sanction  of  the  Diet.  And  in 
order  to  stamp  it  with  the  appearance  of  legality,  it  was  post- 
dated to  the  8th  of  May,  when  the  Estates  were  still  together 
in  good  numbers.  But  it  was  at  the  same  time  an  ominous 
date ;  for  on  that  day  an  alliance  was  concluded  between  the 
Emperor  and  the  Pope  to  the  effect  "  to  have  the  same  friends 
and  without  exception  the  same  enemies ;  the  same  willing- 
ness and  unwillingness  for  defence  and  attack." 

Another  expedient  was  resorted  to  in  order  to  gain  some 
plausibility  for  the  illegally  issued  Edict.  It  was  sophistically 
averred  that,  as  the  Diet  had  already  decided  that  Luther  was 
to  be  proceeded  against,  in  case  he  should  not  recant,  there 
was  no  further  necessity  for  obtaining  the  additional  sanction 
of  that  body  for  the  publication  of  the  Edict.  By  this  decree 
the  Papal  ban  was  confirmed,  and  Luther  himself  was  now 
outlawed  as  a  heretic,  and  his  books  were  prohibited.  The 
Emperor  having  accomplished  this  step,  which  was  one  of  the 
most  momentous  in  the  eventful  course  of  the  Reformation, 


lxii  THE    POLITICAL    COURSE 

now  hastened  to  the  Netherlands,  and  strengthened  by  the 
league  with  the  Pope  and  Henry  VIII.,  soon  began  his  great 
war  asrainst  the  King  of  France. 


It  is  an  amiable  trait  in  human  nature,  though  frequently 
bordering  on  weakness,  to  endeavour  to  find  out  the  good  side  of 
any  evil.  Thus  it  has  been  considered  a  propitious  coincidence 
that  the  German  Empire  had  some  "  claims  "  on  certain  terri- 
tories in  Italy.  For  it  was,  in  a  great  measure,  in  consequence 
of  this  fact,  that  the  war  broke  out  between  the  Emperor  of 
Germany  and  the  King  of  France,  which  necessitated  the 
absence  of  the  former  from  his  German  domains  for  several 
years  and  gave  the  Eeformation  time  for  its  consolidation 
and  expansion.  "We  will  not  deny  the  advantages  which 
resulted  from  that  political  combination,  but  it  is  to  a 
certain  extent  counterbalanced  by  the  ill  which  it  produced. 
Without  the  contingency  of  that  war,  Charles  V.  would  have 
had  no  occasion  for  leaguing  himself  with  the  Pope,  the 
Edict  of  Worms  would,  in  all  probability,  never  have  been 
issued,  and  the  pressing  demand  for  a  General  Council  would 
have  been  acceded  to.  Luther  would  not  have  been  obliged  to 
hide  himself  at  the  Wartburg,  and  the  subsequent  troubles  at 
Wittenberg  would  certainly  never  have  broken  out ;  and  finally 
the  firm  hand  of  a  sovereign  residing  in  the  country  would 
have  stemmed  the  torrent  of  the  Peasants'  War  at  the  outset. 
Another  drawback  resulting  from  the  absence  of  Charles  V. 
was  his  utter  estrangement  from  Germany,  whose  aspirations 
he  neither  cared  for  nor  understood. 

During  the  first  few  months  after  the  departure  of  Charles 
from  Germany  the  work  of  the  Eeformation  went  on  undis- 
turbed. The  Edict  of  Worms  found,  in  general,  no  responsive 
reception  there.  Its  effect  quite  vanished  before  the  impression 
made  by  Luther's  manly,  nay  heroic,  conduct  in  presence  of  the 
Diet.     The  rumour  which  had  got  abroad  that  he  had  been 


OF   THE   REFORMATION  Ixiii 

captured  by  an  enemy  of  the  Elector  Frederick  and  perchance 
killed,  rather  promoted  than  damaged  his  cause.  It  aroused 
warm  sympathy  for  the  Eeformer  and  increased  the  hatred 
against  his  enemies,  who  were  alleged  to  have  resorted  to 
brutal  force,  because  they  could  not  disprove  his  arguments. 
In  fact,  the  adoption  of  the  Keformation  was  now  so  general, 
that  Luther's  antagonists  hardly  dared  to  denounce  them 
openly.  It  is  well  known,  that  the  Elector  of  Mentz  would 
not  give  permission  to  the  Minorite  monks  to  preach  against 
Luther.  The  Edict  of  Worms  was  thus  practically  set  at 
defiance,  and  in  spite  of  its  prohibition  not  to  publish  any 
thing  in  favour  of  the  Keformation,  numerous  writings  in  its 
favour  issued  from  the  German  printing  presses. 

Whilst  the  seed  which  Luther  had  sown  on  German  soil  began 
to  produce  a  magnificent  harvest,  and  he  himself  was  busy  at 
the  Wartburg,  under  the  disguise  of  Junker  Georg,  with  various 
religious  writings,  but  more  especially  with  the  great  work  of 
his  life,  the  translation  of  the  Bible  from  the  original  text,  some 
of  his  adherents  began  to  precipitate  matters  at  Wittenberg 
under  the  leadership  of  the  impassioned  Carlstadt.  A  time  of 
general  dissolution  suddenly  came  on,  in  which  there  was  a 
violent  rupture  with  the  past.  Mass  was  abrogated,  monks 
left  their  convents,  and  priests  married.  Holy  images  were 
destroyed,  and  nearly  all  the  usages  of  the  Koman  Catholic 
Church  were  abruptly  abolished.  Other  innovations  were 
introduced,  and  the  movement  tended  towards  the  introduction 
of  a  Christian  socialism,  or  rather  communism.  If  Luther  had 
not  been  absent,  the  movement  would  never  have  broken  out, 
and  Melanchthon,  who  was  present,  was  quite  perplexed  and 
not  energetic  enough  to  be  able  to  stem  the  surging  tide  of  the 
Eevolution.  The  Prince  Elector,  too,  looked  on  quite  bewildered, 
and,  imbued  with  a  sense  of  unbounded  tolerance,  he  fancied 
that,  after  all,  the  revolutionary  "  saints  "  might  be  right. 

When  Luther  heard  of  the  local  excesses  at  Wittenberg,  he 
suddenly  left  his  "  Patmos,"  in  order  to  find  out  for  himself 
the  real  state  of  things.    In  travelling  to  and  from  Wittenberg, 


Ixiv  THE   POLITICAL   COUKSE 

where  he  stayed  a  few  days  only,  he  had  to  pass  the  territory 
of  his  great  opponent,  the  Duke  of  Saxony.  This  was  at  the 
beginning  of  December,  1521,  consequently  only  a  few  months 
after  the  publication  of  the  Edict  of  Worms,  and  his  con- 
duct shows  both  his  moral  courage,  of  which  he  has  given 
so  many  striking  proofs,  and  his  anxiety  for  the  cause  of  the 
Keformation. 

Soon,  however,  he  was  to  give  still  more  striking  proofs  of 
both.  For  after  the  "  prophets  of  Zwickau,"  those  deluded  and 
deluding  disciples  of  Thomas  Miinzer  had  chosen  the  birthplace 
of  the  Eeformation  for  their  field  of  action,  more  especially 
when  he  heard  of  the  innovations  introduced  in  his  own 
community  since  his  furtive  visit  there,  he  defied  all  danger, 
and  disregarded  the  remonstrances  of  the  Elector  Frederick  not 
to  leave  his  place  of  refuge.  His  heart  was  so  devoid  of  fear 
and  he  had  so  much  confidence  in  the  righteousness  of  his 
cause,  that  he  actually  declared  to  the  Prince  Elector  that  he 
might  give  to  the  latter  greater  protection  than  he  could 
receive  from  him.  He  apologised  nevertheless  for  his  dis- 
obedience to  Frederick,  and  a  few  days  after  his  arrival  at 
Wittenberg  at  the  beginning  of  March,  1522,  he  began  the 
series  of  sermons  by  which  he  soon  allayed  the  storm  and 
extended  both  his  influence  and  reputation. 

Several  of  the  religious  innovations  introduced  during  the 
absence  of  Luther  were  quite  in  accordance  with  his  views, 
but  he  chiefly  objected  to  the  violent  manner  in  which  the 
established  usages  were  thrown  over.  Thus  he  approved  the 
abolition  of  the  Mass,  but  considered  that  it  ought  not  to  have 
been  done  in  a  way  which  was  vexatious  to  another  portion  of 
the  Christian  community.  The  secular  authorities  should  have 
been  consulted  and  everything  done  in  a  legal  manner.  Luther 
was,  besides,  tolerant  in  the  highest  degree.  He  did  not  wish 
to  force  others  to  adopt  his  theories ;  he  merely  wanted  to 
convince  them.  His  mode  of  acting  was  concisely  summed  up 
in  the  following  words,  which  contain  the  keynote  of  his 
activity  as  a  Reformer :  "I  will  preach  about  it,  speak  about 


OF   THE    REFORMATION  lxv 

it,  write  about  it ;  but  I  will  compel  and  drive  no  one  by- 
force  ;  for  belief  is  to  be  accepted  freely  and  spontaneously. 
Take  me  as  an  example.  I  have  opposed  the  Indulgences 
and  the  Papists,  but  not  with  force.  I  have  only  worked, 
preached,  and  written  the  Word  of  the  Lord ;  else  I  have 
done  nothing  .  .  .  I  have  done  nothing ;  the  Word  has  done  and 
accomplished  everything.  If  I  had  wished  to  proceed  turbu- 
lently,  I  could  have  caused  great  bloodshed  in  Germany,  and 
I  might  have  played  such  a  game  at  Worms,  that  even  the 
Emperor  would  not  have  been  safe,"  l  etc. 

These  words,  which  Luther  uttered  in  his  celebrated  sermons 
preached  after  his  return  to  Wittenberg,  not  only  fully  reveal 
to  us  one  of  his  principal  characteristics  as  a  Eeformer,  but 
contain  at  the  same  time  a  full  revelation  of  the  cause  of  the 
peaceful  course  of  the  Eeformation  during  his  lifetime.  He 
held  the  reins  in  his  firm  hands,  and  it  would  only  have  re- 
quired an  encouraging  signal  on  his  part,  and  the  furies  of  civil 
war  would  have  been  at  once  let  loose.  But  those  words  also 
confirm  the  charge  which  has  been  brought  forward  against  the 
Imperial  Estates,  that  they  had  betrayed  the  cause  of  the  Refor- 
mation at  the  Diet  of  Worms.  They  had  the  German  people  at 
their  back,  and  the  Emperor,  with  all  his  Spanish  and  Italian 
courtiers  and  Papal  Legates,  would  have  been  powerless.  Had 
only  some  of  them  given  signs  of  energetic  opposition,  the 
Emperor  would,  in  all  probability,  have  yielded.  That  the 
Princes  did  not  fully  answer  Luther's  expectations  caused 
him  considerable  grief,  and  now  he  had  experienced  another 
disappointment  in  the  conduct  of  the  middle  classes — the 
people  proper — a  jDortion  of  whom  eagerly  supported  the 
violent    innovations    of    the    extreme    reformers.      But    the 

1  That  the  above  assertion  was  no  mere  boast  is  confirmed — if  anything 
what  so  truthful  a  man  as  Luther  said  requires  confirmation — by  the  above- 
mentioned  Documenta  Lutherana,  in  which  we  find  a  letter  from  the  Nuncio 
Aleander,  describing  the  great  popularity  of  Luther  throughout  Germany,  and 
in  particular  at  Augsburg.  "  Know  then,"  he  writes  to  Dr.  Eck,  "  there  are 
so  many  Lutherans  here,  that  not  only  the  men,  but  also  the  very  trees  and 
stones  cry  :  Luther !  " 

e 


Ixvi  THE   P0LITC1AL   COURSE 

greatest  disappointment  with   regard  to  the  healthiest  class 
of  the  people — the  peasants — was  yet  in  store  for  hiin. 

The  effect  which  resulted  from  Luther's  return  to  Witten- 
berg was  doubly  beneficial.  It  allayed  the  turbulent  excite- 
ment at  home,  and  prevented  the  breaking  out  of  a  storm 
abroad,  which  had  well-nigh  been  conjured  up  by  Duke  George 
of  Saxony  at  the  "  Imperial  Kegency,"  or  Beichsregiment ;  which 
body  conducted  the  government  of  the  Empire  in  the  absence  of 
the  Emperor,  and  had  assembled  at  Nuremberg  during  the 
troubles  at  Wittenberg.  The  Duke  actually  prevailed  upon  the 
members  of  the  Imperial  Eegency  to  issue  an  Edict  enjoining 
the  Bishops  of  Naumburg,  Meissen  and  Merseburg,  energeti- 
cally to  suppress  all  religious  innovations ;  but  when  quiet  had 
been  restored  at  Wittenberg  the  tide  turned  in  Luther's  favour, 
partly  owing  to  the  direct  and  indirect  influence  of  the  Elector 
of  Saxony ;  and  thus  the  Edict  of  Worms  was  virtually  set  at 
naught.  The  Imperial  Eegency  did  not  rest  satisfied,  however, 
with  the  tacit  approval  of  the  doctrines  of  Luther,  and  when 
Adrian  VI.,  who  had  succeeded  Leo  X.  in  1522,  demanded 
through  his  Nuncio  that  a  check  should  be  put  to  the  Lutheran 
innovations,  the  Imperial  Eegency  replied  by  a  Eesolution  in 
which  it  declared  its  refusal  to  carry  out  the  Edict  of  Worms. 
On  the  other  hand  it  demanded  "  the  summoning  of  a  General 
Council,  if  possible  within  a  year's  time,  in  a  German  town  and 
under  the  co-operation  of  the  Emperor."  It  was,  of  course, 
understood  that  the  secular  Estates  should  also  take  part 
in  that  council,  and  perfect  immunity  for  a  free  expression  of 
opinion  was  at  the  same  time  admitted.  Moreover,  one  hundred 
gravamina  with  respect  to  the  prevailing  abuses  of  the  Church 
were  handed  to  the  Legate. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  features  in  the  passing  of  the 
above  Eesolution  was  the  circumstance  that  it  even  obtained  the 
consent  of  the  adherents  of  the  Pope,  and  that  the  views  of 
the  latter  regarding  the  necessity  of  Church  reforms,  in  some 
degree  at  least,  contributed  to  it.  Adrian  VI.  was  in  almost 
every  respect    the   opposite  of  Leo   X.      He  had  the  welfare 


OF    THE    REFORMATION  lxvii 

of  the  Church  truly  at  heart,  and  fully  saw  the  abuses  which 
had  crept  in  through  the  depravity  of  its  representatives. 
He  therefore  energetically  and  earnestly  urged  the  necessity 
of  reforming  the  Church,  or  rather  the  clergy.  He  himself 
showed  the  way  by  setting,  in  his  own  person,  the  example  of 
a  true  Apostolic  Pontiff,  by  leading  the  life  of  a  humble  and 
austere  monk,  whereas  Leo  X.  had  surrounded  himself  with 
regal  pomp  and  the  luxuries  of  an  Asiatic  potentate.  On  the 
other  hand  Adrian  was  also  an  orthodox  Dominican,  and 
detested  the  religious  innovations  more  intensely  than  his 
predecessor  did,  who,  as  a  true  Medici,  being  an  enthusiastic 
admirer  of  art  and  a  zealous  cultivator  of  polite  literature,  was 
quite  indifferent  to  ecclesiastical  and  religious  matters.  Leo  X. 
was  opposed  to  Luther  because,  as  Erasmus  expressed  it,  "  he 
had  touched  the  Papal  crown,"  whilst  Adrian  took  up  the 
gauntlet  against  the  Eeformer  because,  in  his  opinion,  the 
latter  weakened  the  corner-stone  of  the  Church  and  undermined 
its  very  foundations.  For  this  reason  he  had  sent  his  Nuncio 
Chieregati  to  the  Imperial  Eegency  at  Nuremberg  with  the 
demand  to  have  the  Edict  of  Worms  carried  into  effect.  This 
demand  was  only  consistent  with  the  Pope's  line  of  action  ;  but 
the  times  had  changed,  even  during  the  short  space  which  had 
elapsed  since  Charles  V.  had  issued  his  Edict  against  Luther 
by  a  shuffling  proceeding,  and  the  Imperial  Eegency  openly 
refused  to  enact  it. 

That  the  Estates  should  have  been  able  thus  to  act  in 
defiance  of  both  Pope  and  Emperor,  was  in  itself  the  result  of 
the  influence  which  the  Eeformation  exercised  on  the  political 
status  of  the  German  people.  The  civic  element  now  assumed  a 
political  importance  which  it  never  enjoyed  before.  The 
commoner  began  to  feel  his  dignity,  as  a  man,  as  a  member  of 
the  State.  The  teachings  of  Luther  had  set  free  human  in- 
telligence and  free  thought,  which  had  been  so  long  held 
imprisoned  and  bound  by  political  and  religious  tyranny, 
and  the  people  began — to  think  and  reason  for  themselves. 
From  the  moment  this  was  done,  they  were  free,  and  as  soon  as 

e  2 


lxviii  THE    POLITICAL    COURSE 

they  obtained  political  rights,  they  well  understood  how  to  assert 
them.  The  re-establishment  of  an  Imperial  Regency  on  a 
"  constitutional  basis,"  formed  one  of  the  principal  stipulations 
at  the  election  of  Charles  V.,  and  the  Deputies  having  been 
chosen  by  the  Electoral  Princes  and  the  various  "  Circles,"  or 
districts  into  which  Germany  was  then  divided,  the  common- 
wealth was  for  the  first  time  officially  represented  at  a  German 
constitutional  assembly.  We  have  seen  how  worthily  the 
members  of  the  Imperial  Eegency  had  discharged  their  trust ; 
and  it  may  be  said,  that  from  that  moment  dates  the  political 
emancipation  of  Germany. 

VI. 

The  answer  of  the  Imperial  Regency  to  Adrian  VI.  was  the 
first  political  triumph  of  the  Reformation,  but  its  effect  was 
considerably  weakened  by  several  events  which  occurred  shortly 
after.  First  came  the  rising  of  the  knights — who  constituted 
the  lower  nobility — under  the  banner  of  the  brave  and  restless 
Franz  von  Sickingen.  Grave  discontent  reigned  among  the 
knights  with  the  doings  of  the  all-powerful  "  Suabian  League," 
formed  in  1488  by  the  Estates  of  Suabia  for  the  maintenance  of 
general  peace,  and  also  with  the  encroachments  of  the  Princes ; 
and  Sickingen,  aided  by  Ulrich  von  Hutten,  united  the  lesser 
nobles  into  one  body  with  the  avowed  object  of  breaking  the  power 
of  the  higher  nobility,  and  of  acknowledging  one  head  only — the 
Emperor.  It  has  been  plausibly  assumed,  that  Sickingen  pursued 
a  more  ambitious  aim,  and  he  has  therefore  been  compared  with 
Wallenstein.  Sickingen  professed,  however,  another  object  in  his 
enterprise  :  the  furtherance  of  the  cause  of  the  Reformation  ;  and 
at  the  head  of  a  large  and  powerful  army,  he  directed  his  first 
attack  (Sept.  1522),  against  the  Archbishop  of  Treves.  The 
knights  were  defeated,  their  leader  lost  his  life,  and  Hutten 
wandered  away — outlawed  and  proscribed — to  find  an  exile's 
grave  in  a  small  island  of  Switzerland.  The  enemies  of  Luther 
considered,  or  pretended  to  consider,  the  Reformation  as  the 


OF   THE   REFORMATION  lxix 

main  cause  of  Sickiugen's  undertaking,  and  this  circumstance 
estranged  from  the  Eeformer  a  number  of  his  adherents  and 
confirmed  his  antagonists  in  their  enmity  against  him,  although 
he  had  no  immediate  connection  with  the  revolt  of  the  nobles. 

The  first  result  of  the  rising  and  of  the  defeat  of  the  knights 
was,  that  several  Princes  now  assumed  a  somewhat  hostile 
attitude  towards  the  Imperial  Eegency,  that  had  shown  itself  so 
tolerant  respecting  religious  reforms ;  but  a  still  severer  blow 
threatened  that  body  from  another  quarter.  The  wealthy  Ger- 
man cities  sent  a  deputation  to  Charles  V.  in  Spain,  with  a 
petition  against  some  ordinances  which  the  Imperial  Chamber 
had  decided  upon  and  which  were  considered  detrimental  to 
their  commercial  interests.  The  Emperor,  dissatisfied  with 
that  liberal  Institution,  readily  promised  a  new  administration. 
This  promise  was  fulfilled  at  the  next  Diet,  in  1524,  at  Nurem- 
berg, when  it  was  decided  to  reorganise  the  Imperial  Eegency 
by  electing  for  it  entirely  new  members.  Those  who  con- 
sented to  this  proceeding  were  influenced,  partly  by  political 
and  partly  by  commercial  reasons,  but  as  regards  religious 
matters  there  was  still  a  majority  in  favour  of  the  Eeforma- 
tion.  On  this  account  it  came  to  pass  that  a  Eesolution  was 
carried  at  the  Diet,  to  convoke  another  assembly  of  the  Estates 
in  the  same  year  at  Spires,  the  points  to  be  discussed  there 
being  in  the  meantime  drawn  up  for  the  Princes  by  scholars 
and  counsellors.  Till  then  the  Eesolution  of  the  preceding 
Diet,  "  that  the  Gospel  should  be  allowed  to  be  freely 
preached,"  was  to  remain  in  force.  Thus  the  mission  of  the 
Papal  Nuncio  Campeggi,  who  had  been  sent  to  Germany  by 
Clement  VII.  (the  successor  of  Adrian  VI.  since  1523)  to 
bring  about  the  enactment  of  the  Edict  of  Worms,  proved 
unsuccessful.  It  is  true  the  Diet  passed  a  Eesolution,  that 
the  Edict  of  Worms  should  be  executed,  but  this  decision  was 
rendered  ineffective  by  the  additional  elastic  clause :  "  As 
far  as  possible."  At  the  same  time  the  demand  for  a  General 
Council  was  added. 

The    above    Mandate   now    shared   the  fate  of   most   com- 


lxx  THE   POLITICAL   COURSE 

promises ;  inasmuch  as  it  satisfied  neither  party.  Luther 
himself  and  his  followers  saw  in  it  an  indirect  confirmation 
of  the  Edict  of  Worms,  and  he  expressed  his  indignation  at 
it  in  an  outspoken  publication,  in  which  he  bitterly  re- 
proached the  Emperor  and  the  Princes  for  their  treatment  of 
him.  He  had  now  lost  all  confidence  in  both.  But  the 
Emperor's  indignation  at  the  Nuremberg  Mandate  was  not 
less  strongly  marked,  and  he  issued  an  Edict,  in  which  he 
energetically  denied  the  Estates  the  right  of  interference  in 
religious  matters,  demanding  at  the  same  time  the  strict 
execution  of  the  Edict  of  Worms.  The  constant  recurrence 
of  the  Emperor  and  the  adherents  of  the  Pope  to  that 
Edict  must  not  surprise  us.  It  is  the  point  upon  which  the 
whole  movement  turned ;  for  if  the  condemnation  of  Luther  was 
confirmed,  all  his  reforms  and  his  adherents  would  be  com- 
prised in  that  condemnation. 

Various  circumstances  now  combined  to  strengthen  the  effect 
of  the  Emperor's  new  Edict.  The  Papal  Nuncio  Campeggi 
succeeded  in  inducing  several  influential  forces,  hostile  to 
the  Reformation,  to  form  a  League  for  the  protection  of  the  old 
faith.  The  Archduke  Ferdinand  and  the  Dukes  of  Bavaria — 
Princes  who  had  for  some  time  been  conspiring  with  the 
Eoman  Curia — together  with  a  number  of  Prelates,  assembled 
for  that  purpose  in  the  summer  of  1524  at  Ratisbon,  and  agreed 
upon  stringent  measures  against  the  Reformation.  They 
decided  to  give  effect  to  the  Edict  of  Worms,  to  proscribe 
again  the  works  of  Luther,  and  even  to  forbid  to  their 
subjects  the  attending  of  the  University  of  Wittenberg. 

The  next  step  of  the  Ratisbon  Convention  was  now  to  obtain 
the  co-operation  of  Charles  V.,  which  was  effected  easily 
enough,  inasmuch  as  the  projected  measures  fully  coincided 
with  his  own  views  ;  and  being  about  to  attack  Francis  I.  in 
France  itself,  from  the  direction  of  Italy,  he  stood  in  great 
need  of  the  Tope's  tacit  acquiescence.  He  issued,  therefore,  a 
stringent  Edict,  in  which  the  convocation  of  a  General  Council 
was  strictly  prohibited,  and  all  interference  in  religious  matters 


OF   THE    REFORMATION  lxxi 

was  energetically  forbidden.  Those  who  dared  to  set  at  nought 
the  provision  of  the  Edict,  would  render  themselves  liable  to  a 
charge  of  high  treason,  and  on  conviction  would  be  punished 
with  the  highest  degree  of  the  Imperial  Ban,  (Acht-  und 
Aberacht).  In  that  Imperial  Order  Luther  himself — one  of  the 
noblest  men  who  ever  lived — was  likened  to  some  loathsome 
monster. 

The  Convention  of  Ratisbon,  which  was  chiefly  brought 
about  by  foreign  influence,  may  be  said  to  have  caused  the  first 
violent  rupture  among  the  German  people,  and  to  be  the  origin 
of  all  the  calamities  which  befell  Germany  in  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries.  Without  that  Convention  the  projected 
General  Council  would,  in  all  probability,  have  been  held,  the 
proposed  reforms  would  have  been  peacefully  and  legally  dis- 
cussed, and  there  would  not  have  occurred  that  violent  disrup- 
tion among  the  Germans,  of  which  the  evil  effects,  not  only 
from  a  religious,  but  also  from  a  political  point  of  view,  have  not 
yet  entirely  disappeared.  The  only  advantage  which  resulted 
from  the  Eatisbon  Convention  was  the  agreement  to  introduce 
a  number  of  internal  reforms  in  the  Church.  Thus  the  im- 
proved state  of  Eoman  Catholicism  is  entirely  due  to  the 
doctrines  of  Luther  and  his  Reformation. 


VII. 

The  year  1525  was  perhaps  the  most  trying  in  Luther's 
career.  He  had  hitherto  been  disappointed  in  the  Princes  and 
the  burghers,  and  now  he  experienced  the  mortification  of  seeing 
that  class  of  people,  from  which  he  sprang  himself,  entering 
on  a  path  which  must  needs  prove  injurious  to  themselves,  and 
to  the  cause  for  which  he  lived  and  worked.  Various  risings 
of  the  Peasants  had  taken  place  before  the  time  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, in  consequence  of  the  inhuman  treatment  to  which  they 
were  subjected  by  the  nobles.  The  exactions  of  the  priests 
were  likewise  intolerable.  Some  local  risings  took  place  in 
1524;  but  in  the  following  year  that  terrible  contest,  known  as 


lxxii  THE   POLITICAL   COURSE 

"  The  Peasants'  War,"  broke  out  in  the  south  of  Germany  with 
all  the  fury  of  long-pent  up  despair.  The  origin  of  the  insur- 
rection must  therefore  be  sought  solely  in  the  cause,  which  pro- 
duced the  risings  of  slaves  or  serfs  in  ancient  and  modern  times. 
It  was  the  revolt  of  men  who  felt  their  inner  worth,  and  who 
were  determined  to  shake  off  an  unbearable  yoke.  The  enemies 
of  Luther  attributed,  however,  the  outbreak  of  the  war  to  the 
influence  of  his  teachings,  in  the  same  way  as  they  attributed 
to  these  any  other  public  calamity  which  then  befell  Germany  ; 
just  as  in  modern  times  blinded  political  passions  will  trace 
the  cause  of  the  failure  of  a  harvest,  for  instance,  to  the  fact  of 
this  or  that  party  being  in  power. 

The  first  programme  of  the  Peasants,  as  contained  in  the 
well-known  Twelve  Articles,  was  moderate  enough.  Even 
Luther  did  not  entirely  reject  their  demands,  some  of  which 
he  wished  to  see  referred  to  the  decision  of  legal  authorities. 
He  admonished  the  Peasants,  however,  not  to  have  recourse  to 
brutal  violence,  and  at  the  same  time  he  exhorted  the  nobles  to 
lend  a  merciful  ear  to  the  cries  of  the  sufferers.  The  last  clause 
of  the  Twelve  Articles  must  have  struck  in  his  heart  a  sympa- 
thetic chord.  The  Peasants  declared  that  their  demands  shall 
not  stand,  in  case  they  should  be  refuted  by  Scripture,  which 
statement  seems  to  be  an  echo  of  Luther's  own  declaration  at  the 
Diet  of  Worms.  But  it  was  just  that  external  similarity  which 
turned  out  so  fatal  for  the  cause  of  the  Eeformation.  The 
Peasants  borrowed  the  phraseology,  as  it  were,  of  Luther ;  they 
clothed  their  grievances  in  the  language  of  the  Gospel,  and  thus 
gave  to  the  enemies  of  the  Eeformation  the  plausible  pretext 
of  confounding  it  with  their  own  insurrection.  It  was  of  little 
avail  for  Luther  himself  to  protest  against  the  allegation  of 
the  insurgents  that  their  rising  was  founded  on  a  religious  basis, 
since  his  enemies  persistently  took  the  form  for  the  substance. 

If  all  the  rebellious  Peasants  had  strictly  adhered  to  their 
first  programme,  their  cause  might  yet  have  taken  a  favourable 
turn ;  but,  as  is  generally  the  case  with  revolutionary  move- 
ments, there  soon  arose  an  extreme  party  which  aimed  at  the 


OF   THE    REFORMATION  lxxiii 

total  subversion  of  the  existing  order  of  things.  Here  again  it 
was  unfortunate  that  some  points  started  in  the  manifesto  of 
that  party  had  been  previously  advocated  by  Luther,  for  his 
unjust  antagonists  laid  all  their  demands,  which  have  been 
compared  to  the  French  revolutionary  doctrines  of  1783,  to  his 
charge.  The  climax  of  the  insurrectionary  outbreak  was,  how- 
ever, reached  by  the  doings  of  Thomas  Miinzer  and  his  followers, 
who  preached  and  practised  evangelical  communism,  and  who 
accelerated  by  their  fanatic  and  fantastic  conduct  the  tragic 
catastrophe  in  this  sanguinary  drama.  Luther  was  now  in  a 
most  critical  position.  He  made  every  effort  to  stem  the  tide 
of  the  revolution — he  energetically  exhorted  both  Princes  and 
Peasants,  and  travelled  about  as  a  missionary  of  peace ;  but 
all  in  vain.  His  influence  seemed,  for  the  first  time,  to  have  lost 
its  effect,  and  friends  and  foes  censured  him  alike.  The  former 
reproached  him  with  having  deserted  his  own  cause,  whilst  the 
latter  blamed  him  as  the  originator  of  this  fatal  war.  Thomas 
Miinzer  and  his  followers  even  accused  Luther  of  base  servility 
towards  the  Princes ;  and  one  of  the  grossest  calumnies 
perhaps  ever  brought  forward  against  a  man  of  Luther's  stamp, 
was  the  charge  that  he  had  written  his  vehement  publication, 
"  against  the  murderous  robber-bands  of  the  Peasants,"  after 
their  total  defeat.  But  this  was  untrue.  He  wrote  it,  in  fact, 
whilst  the  Peasants  were  in  the  ascendancy,  and  whilst  they 
disgraced  their  victory  by  barbarous  acts  of  cruelty.  When 
the  nobles  got  the  upper  hand,  and  wreaked  their  vengeance 
in  a  most  inhuman  manner  on  the  vanquished,  the  wrath  of 
Luther  was  turned  against  the  cruel  victors.  He  pleaded 
for  mercy  even  for  the  guilty,  and  with  some  of  the  Princes 
his  intercession  was  successful.  Large  numbers  of  defeated 
Peasants  were  allowed,  by  Landgrave  Philip  of  Hesse  and 
the  Prince  Elector  John  of  Saxony,  the  brother  and  successor 
of  the  Elector  Frederick,  to  return  home  unmolested,  whilst 
the  Bishop  of  Wurzburg  and  other  anti-Lutheran  lords  dis- 
tinguished themselves  by  a  most  refined  cruelty  in  their 
treatment  of  the  Peasant  prisoners. 


Ixxiv  THE    POLITICAL    COURSE 


VIII. 


In  addition  to  the  various  disasters  which  befell  Luther — 
and  in  him  the  whole  of  Germany — in  the  calamitous  year  of 
1525,  he  also  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  his  friend  and 
protector,  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  who  died  in  the  spring  of 
that  year.  Frederick  had  looked  with  true  paternal  compassion 
on  the  insurgent  Peasants,  and  had  life  and  health  been  spared 
him,  he  might  have  quelled  the  civil  war  by  the  dint  of 
his  authority,  or  at  least  have  mitigated  its  evils.  Besides 
him,  there  was  no  one  in  Germany  who  enjoyed  the  same 
universal  respect,  and  both  the  Imperial  Eegency  and  the 
Estates  were,  as  a  body,  powerless.  If  Germany  had  been 
ruled  over  at  that  time  by  a  sovereign  residing  in  the  country, 
and  caring  for  the  welfare  of  his  people,  the  Peasants'  War 
would  never  have  assumed  such  gigantic  dimensions,  nor  would 
its  consequences  have  been  so  fatal.  But  whilst  Germany  was 
convulsed  by  one  of  the  most  sanguinary  of  intestine  wars,  the 
Emperor  resided  in  Spain,  and  his  army  fought  and  defeated 
the  King  of  France  before  Pavia ;  which  circumstance  may 
serve  as  an  additional  proof  of  the  evil  caused  by  the  election 
of  Charles  V.  as  head  of  the  German  Empire. 

The  only  interest  which  the  Emperor  manifested  with 
reference  to  Germany  consisted  in  his  relentless  efforts  to 
exterminate  the  Lutheran  doctrines.  Thus  he  again  and  again 
issued  from  Spain  energetic  admonitions  to  the  Princes  and 
Bishops  to  make  a  firm  resistance  against  the  Eeformation; 
promising  and  threatening  at  the  same  time  to  come  shortly 
to  Germany  himself,  in  order  to  crush  the  heretics.  These  acts, 
together  with  the  consultation  at  Mentz  at  which  a  number 
of  priests  agreed  on  the  suppression  of  Lutheran  heresy,  induced 
the  Landgrave  Philip  of  Hesse,  and  John  the  Elector  of  Saxony, 
in  the  spring  of  1526,  to  form  the  so-called  "  League  of 
Torgau  "  for  the  protection  and  defence  of  the  Eeformation. 
Luther  himself,  being,  in  principle,  against  all  armed  resistance 


OF   THE    REFORMATION  lxxV 

to  any  constituted  authority,  had  consistently  opposed  the 
formation  of  that  or  any  other  League,  with  a  view  to  revolt. 

Luther  was  of  opinion  that  a  bad  Prince  must  be  patiently 
borne  with,  like  any  other  scourge  or  calamity  sent  by  Heaven. 
In  this  sense  it  was,  that  he  taught  "  that  the  badness  and 
perversity  of  a  government  does  not  justify  active  resistance  or 
rebellion."  Indeed  he  considered  the  sufferings  inflicted  by  a 
tyrannical  ruler  on  his  subjects  as  part  and  parcel  of  a  man's 
destiny  upon  earth.  It  was  his  Christian  duty  to  suffer.  Ac- 
cording to  his  opinion  man  was  not  destined  to  be  happy  in 
this  world,  where  he  has  been  placed  as  a  martyr.  Such  were 
his  honest  convictions  and  his  views  of  life  ;  his  denial  of  the 
right  of  resistance  arose  therefore  from  a  purely  religious 
feeling,  and  not  from  any  servile  instinct.  Surely  a  man  who 
speaks  in  the  following  strain  of  Princes  cannot  be  accused  of 
servility :  "  From  the  beginning  of  the  world,"  says  Luther,  "  a 
good  Prince  has  been  a  rare  bird  and  a  pious  Prince  a  still  rarer 
one.  They  are  as  a  rule  the  greatest  fools  and  worst  knaves 
upon  earth.  If  there  is  a  Prince  who  is  a  wise  and  pious  man, 
or  a  Christian,  it  is  a  great  miracle  and  the  best  sign  of  divine 
grace  for  a  country.  Therefore  one  must  always  expect  the 
worst  from  them,  and  not  hope  for  any  good  from  them.  They 
are  the  scourges  and  the  executioners  of  God,  and  He  employs 
them  to  punish  the  wicked  and  to  maintain  external  peace." 

Luther  was  well  aware  of  the  fact  that  Germany  required  a 
thorough  reform  as  regards  its  civic  or  secular  government, 
more  especially  as  he  had  found  out  that  both  the  Princes 
and  the  Emperor  had  betrayed  the  German  people.  With 
that  dignified  self-consciousness  which  is  quite  compatible 
with  true  modesty,  he  said  :  "  At  times  it  seems  to  me  as  if  the 
Government  and  the  Jurists  also  required  a  Luther."  If  there 
had  been  during  his  time  a  great  man  in  Germany,  capable  of 
achieving  in  politics  what  he  had  himself  achieved  in  religion,  he 
would  undoubtedly  have  co-operated  with  him.  For  Luther 
was  a  true  German  patriot,  if  ever  there  was  one,  as  is  evi- 
dent from  so  many  of  his  writings,  and  more  especially  from 


lxxvi  THE    POLITICAL   COUESE 

his  appeal  to  the  "  Christian  Nobility  of  the  German  Nation." 
What  he  abhorred  was  the  use  of  brutal  force,  either  by  Princes 
or  by  the  people,  for  the  acquisition  of  political  freedom,  and  this 
was — as  we  have  seen — in  strict  accordance  with  his  religious 
views.  His  notions  of  the  individual  freedom  of  man  had 
also  a  religious  basis.  He  regarded  man  as  designed  to  be  a 
free  being,  but  it  was  only  Christian  belief  which  imparted  to 
him  that  stamp  of  true  freedom.  This  view  Luther  forcibly 
expressed  in  the  well-known  antithesis  in  his  Treatise,  '  Con- 
cerning Christian  Liberty  : '  "A  Christian  man  is  the  most  free 
lord  of  all,  and  subject  to  none ;  a  Christian  man  is  the  most 
dutiful  servant  of  all,  and  subject  to  every  one."  l 

The  liberty  of  man,  as  interpreted  by  Luther,  may  be  regarded 
by  some  persons  as  only  of  limited  extent,  and  as  having  merely 
an  ideal  existence,  but  at  any  rate  it  marks  a  great  progress  in 
the  history  of  civilization,  and  may  be  considered  as  the  germ 
of  the  emancipation  of  the  human  race.  It  was  the  first  step 
in  the  acknowledgment  of  the  right  of  man  as  a  human  being. 
The  principle  of  political  freedom  which  now  benefits  the 
adherents  of  all  creeds  in  civilized  society  must  therefore  be 
traced  back  to  the  Eeformation.  If  the  teachings  of  Luther 
had  not  first  freed  the  Christian  man,  the  liberty  of  man,  in 
general — the  equality  of  men — would  scarcely  have  met  with 
such  a  ready  recognition  in  later  centuries. 

If  Luther  had  not  so  strenuously  opposed  all  active  resistance 
against  authority,  the  political  course  of  the  Eeformation 
would  certainly  have  taken  a  different  turn  ;  and  it  was  for- 
tunate enough  for  its  consolidation,  that  some  of  the  Princes, 
who  otherwise  followed  his  teachings,  did  not  share  his  opinions 
on  that  subject.  The  formation  of  the  above-mentioned 
League  of  Torgau  was  the  first  result  of  that  difference  of 
opinion ;  and  when  the  Diet  assembled,  in  the  summer  of 
1526,  at  Spires,  the  Princes  John  and  Philip,  strengthened 
by  their  union,  could  dare  to  acknowledge  and  practise  openly 
the  doctrines  of  the  Eeformation  in  the  face  of  the  Diet.  In 
1  Sec  p.  1012  in  the  present  volume. 


OF   THE    REFORMATION  lxxvii 

vain  did  the  Imperial  Commissioners  urge  the  Estates  to  carry- 
out  at  last  the  Edict  of  Worms.  The  Diet  was,  however,  so 
much  the  less  inclined  to  obey  the  Emperor's  behests  on  this 
point,  because  he  was  now  himself  at  enmity  with  the  Pope. 
Clement  VII.  being  afraid  of  the  ascendency  of  Charles  Y.  after 
his  victory  at  Pavia,  released  the  French  King  from  his  solemn 
oath  at  the  Peace  of  Madrid,  and  formed  with  him  and  several 
Italian  Princes  the  League  of  Cognac,  also  blasphemously  called 
the  "Holy  League,"  which  was  directed  against  Charles  V.  The 
Estates,  therefore,  eagerly  seized  the  opportunity  of  declaring 
that  the  antagonism  between  Pope  and  Emperor  made  it  im- 
possible for  them  to  give  effect  even  indirectly  to  the  Papal  Ex- 
communication against  Luther.  The  Turk  was  also  threatening 
from  the  East,  and  the  Estates  did  not  consider  it  prudent  to 
cause  dissensions  among  the  German  people.  They  resolved 
therefore  to  petition  the  Emperor,  through  an  embassy,  to  come 
in  person  to  Germany  and  to  convoke  a  General  Council.  They 
further  decided  that  in  matters  of  religion,  perfect  freedom  and 
tolerance  should  prevail. 

The  Kesolution  of  the  Diet  of  Spires  in  1526  was  of  consider- 
able moment.  The  Eeformation  was  now  formally  acknow- 
ledged and  legalised,  and  had  gained  full  time  to  recover  lost 
ground  and  to  obtain  a  firm  footing  throughout  Germany.  It 
also  was  a  fortunate  coincidence  that  Charles  V.  was  now 
occupied  in  Italy  with  his  war  against  the  Pope  and  Francis  I., 
whilst  his  brother  Ferdinand,  now  King  of  Hungary  and 
Bohemia,  was  encumbered  by  his  troubles  in  those  countries. 

IX. 

In  consequence  of  the  absence  of  both  the  Emperor  and  his 
locum  tenens  from  Germany,  the  projected  General  Council  was 
not  convoked,  and  the  next  Diet  did  not  assemble  before  the 
year  1529,  at  Spires.  Till  then  the  Eeformation  had  full  scope 
to  expand ;  but  after  the  armies  of  Charles  V.  had  captured 
Rome,  and  a  terrible  pestilence  had  well-nigh  destroyed  the 


lxxviii  THE    POLITICAL   COURSE 

French  troops  in  Italy,  the  Emperor  was  again  free  to  terror- 
ize over  Germany.  He  concluded  peace  with  Clement  VII. 
at  Barcelona,  and  with  Francis  I.  at  Camhray,  and  the  first 
result  of  the  diplomatic  union  between  the  three  belligerents 
was  a  combination  of  their  efforts  to  crush  the  "  heresy  "  in 
Germany.  Soon  after  the  beginning  of  the  Diet  at  Spires, 
a  palpable  proof  was  given  that  a  great  change  had  taken  place 
in  public  affairs  since  1526.  On  March  15,  1529,  the  Imperial 
Commissioners  laid  a  Mandate  before  the  Diet  to  the  effect 
that  the  Eesolution  of  the  last  Diet  at  Spires,  which  granted 
free  exercise  of  religion,  should  be  revoked,  and  that,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  Edict  of  Worms  should  be  enforced.  The 
majority,  though  now  consisting  of  adherents  of  the  Pope,  did 
not  accept  the  proposal  exactly  in  that  form  ;  but  still  they 
issued  a  Decree,  the  general  acceptance  of  which  would  have 
implied  a  total  condemnation  of  the  Eeformation  on  the  part 
of  its  supporters. 

In  this  emergency  several  German  Princes  and  Imperial 
towns  gave  proof  of  a  most  praiseworthy  moral  courage.  John, 
Prince  Elector  of  Saxony,  Philip,  Landgrave  of  Hesse,  George, 
Margrave  of  Brandenburg,  Duke  Ernest  of  Brunswick- 
Luneburg,  Prince  Wolfgang  of  Anhalt,  and  fourteen  Imperial 
free  towns,  having  in  vain  demurred  against  the  decision  of  the 
Diet,  laid  before  it  a  Protest  against  the  pernicious  decree, 
declaring  at  the  same  time,  that  in  matters  of  religion  and 
conscience  the  decision  of  majorities  was  not  binding.  How 
deep  was  the  impression  which  that  remarkable  step  had 
produced  on  the  minds  of  the  German  people,  may  be  inferred 
from  the  fact  that  it  gave  occasion  to  single  out  the  adherents 
of  Luther  as  a  body  and  to  apply  to  them  the  name  of 
Protestants. 

The  rupture  between  the  two  religious  parties  was  now 
complete.  They  no  longer  formed  merely  two  different  shades 
of  the  same  party,  but  were  distinguished  from  each  other  even 
as  to  the  name.  Roman  Catholics  stood  opposite  Protestants. 
In  one  respect  the  new  appellation  was  a  gain ;  for  it  embraced 


OF    THE    REFORMATION  lxxix 

all  the  members  of  that  Christian  community,  which  did  not 
acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  the  Pope.  On  the  other  hand 
the  name  has  the  disadvantage  that  it  is  like  the  word 
"  Eeformation,"  of  a  negative  character.  It  is  true  the  Protest 
of  the  Princes  actually  was  a  positive  assertion  of  the  right 
of  conscience,  but  popular  interpretation  applied  to  it  the 
character  of  an  aggressive  document,  and  the  adherents  of 
Luther  were  consequently  regarded  henceforth  in  the  light 
of  a  merely  malcontent  party.  The  term  "  Lutherans  " — 
Lutheraner — does  not  embrace  the  whole  body  of  those  who 
seceded  from  the  Eoman  Catholic  Church.  Luther  himself 
deprecated,  moreover,  the  distinction  of  being  called  a  "  founder 
of  a  religion,"  and  although  one  of  the  greatest  theological 
authorities  of  our  times  is  still  inclined  to  consider  him  as 
such,  it  seems  to  me — if  I  may  venture  to  express  an  opinion 
on  anything  touching  a  theological  subject — that  Luther  merely 
modified  and  reformed  an  established  religious  faith,  but  did 
not  found  one.  The  designation  "  Old  Catholic  "  might  perhaps 
have  been  the  most  appropriate,  and  would  not  perchance  have 
caused  such  a  violent  disruption  among  the  members  of  the 
great  Christian  community. 


X, 

At  the  Diet  of  1529  the  Protestants  had  gained  a  moral 
victory,  but  they  had  suffered  a  material  defeat ;  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Empire  was  now  entirely  in  the  hands  of  their 
antagonists.  It  seemed,  therefore,  prudent  to  prepare  for 
future  emergencies,  and  some  of  the  Protestant  Princes  began 
negotiations  with  several  cities,  both  German  and  Swiss.  A 
comprehensive  scheme  was  devised  which,  if  successfully 
carried  out,  would  have  entirely  changed  the  political  aspect 
of  Germany,  if  not  of  Europe.  Unfortunately  this  plan,  the 
execution  of  which  could  alone  have  saved  the  cause  of 
Protestantism,  was  frustrated  by  the  well-known  theological  dif- 
ference between  the  adherents  of  Luther  and  Zwingli.     Thus, 


lxxx  THE    POLITICAL    COURSE 

instead  of  first  combining  against  the  common  enemy,  and 
subsequently  in  firm  union  settling  the  theological  differences, 
or  even  leaving  them  unsettled,  the  logical  order  of  the 
proceeding  was  reversed.  The  Theologians  first  assembled  to 
discuss  their  religious  differences,  and  the  result  was  that  fatal 
schism  which  divided  the  camp  of  the  Protestants,  and  perma- 
nently damaged  their  cause.  Luther  and  his  more  immediate 
followers  decided  that  it  would  not  be  justifiable  to  form  an 
alliance  with  the  Zwinglians,  and  further,  that  it  would  be  an 
offence  against  law  and  religion  to  offer  armed  resistance  to  the 
Emperor.  The  co-operation  of  Upper  Germany,  Suabia  and 
Switzerland  was  lost  in  consequence,  and— in  face  of  the  armed 
and  threatening  enemy — all  preparations  for  defence  were 
neglected  on  account  of  religious  scruples.  "  Surely,"  says 
Eanke,  "  this  was  not  prudent,  but  it  was  grand." 

Whilst  the  German  Theologians  discussed  religious  subjects 
and  the  "  right  of  resistance,"  Charles  V.  strengthened  his 
position  in  Italy,  and  Clement  VII.  placed  on  his  head,  at 
Bologna,  the  crown  of  Charles  the  Great.  The  Emperor  was 
surrounded  on  this  occasion  chiefly  by  Italian  Princes  and 
Spanish  Grandees,  and  only  one  or  two  German  Princes  were 
present.  The  coronation  was,  therefore,  against  the  "  ancient 
German  custom,"  but  Charles  was  crowned  as  a  Roman  and  not 
as  a  German  Emperor  of  Germany.  He  might  have  been  like 
Henry  the  Fowler,  another  founder  or  regenerator  of  the 
German  Empire,  whereas  he  renovated  the  Imperial  dignity 
only  so  far  as  his  own  personality  was  concerned.  This  step 
was  very  significant,  and  may  serve  as  a  clue  to  his  subsequent 
course  of  action. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  Pope  and  Emperor  distrusted  each 
other,  but  they  were  diplomatic  enough  to  assume  the  mask  of 
mutual  friendship.  There  was,  moreover,  one  powerful  bond  of 
union  between  them,  namely,  the  determination  to  eradicate 
German  "heresy."  This  resolve  was  one  of  the  principal 
motives  of  the  Emperor's  journey  to  Germany,  in  the  summer 
of  1530,  for  the  purpose  of  holding  a  Diet  at  Augsburg.     The 


OF   THE    REFORMATION.  Ixxxi 

writ  issued  on  that  occasion  was  peaceful  and  gracious  enough . 
His  avowed  object  was  "  to  settle  the  prevailing  discord,  and 
to  learn  and  graciously  to  consider  everybody's  conviction, 
opinion,  and  views,  for  the  benefit  of  Christian  truth." 

It  may  reasonably  be  assumed  that  the  Emperor  was 
benevolently  disposed,  and  would  have  preferred  to  see  his 
point  carried  by  gentle  means.  His  benevolence  was,  how- 
ever, of  that  conditional  kind  only,  which  first  tries  peaceful 
means,  but  subsequently  has  recourse  to  arbitrary  and  violent 
measures,  should  the  gentle  measures  prove  futile.  He  was  not 
imbued  with  that  absolute  benevolence  and  clemency  which 
shows  mercy  even  to  the  guilty,  or  the  supposed  guilty.  The 
Roman  Catholic  Princes  were  aware  of  this  disposition  of  the 
Emperor,  and  of  his  secret  agreement  with  the  Pope,  though 
the  Protestant  Princes  implicitly  believed  in  his  peaceful  and 
gracious  assurances.  The  latter  now  hopefully  looked  forward 
to  an  amicable  settlement  of  the  prevailing  discord,  and  at  once 
proceeded  to  draw  up  a  Programme,  containing  the  substance 
of  the  reformed  creed. 

It  did  not  take  long  however  for  the  Protestants  to  see  their 
error.  Even  before  the  Emperor's  arrival  at  Augsburg  he  urged 
the  Elector  John  of  Saxony  not  to  allow  the  preachers  he  had 
brought  with  him  to  preach  in  public.  This  demand  was 
repeated  in  Augsburg,  in  the  Emperor's  presence,  after  his 
arrival  in  that  city,  to  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  and  several  other 
Protestant  Princes.  The  theological  defence  of  the  evangelical 
sermons  by  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse  merely  served  to  arouse  the 
wrath  and  indignation  of  Charles.  When,  however,  the  aged 
warrior,  the  Margrave  George  of  Brandenburg  emphatically 
exclaimed :  "  Sire,  before  renouncing  the  word  of  God,  I  would 
rather  kneel  down  on  this  spot  and  let  my  head  be  cut  off,"  the 
Emperor  was  deeply  moved  by  this  energetic  protest,  and  uttered 
in  his  Low-German  vernacular  the  reassuring  words :  "  No 
heads  off!  no  heads  off,  my  dear  Prince  !  " 

The  Protestant  Princes  also  declined  to  join  in  the  public 
procession    on    the   festival   of  Corpus    Christi,    which    was 

/ 


lxxxii  THE   POLITICAL  COURSE 

celebrated  the  following  day,  in  spite  of  the  Emperor's  earnest 
invitation  to  attend  it.  Charles  was  startled  by  this  stubborn 
resistance.  He  had  cherished  the  hope  that  the  halo  of  worldly 
glory  which  surrounded  him,  together  with  his  brilliant  entry 
into  Augsburg,  would  dazzle  and  overawe  the  Protestant 
Princes  ;  but  they  remained  firm.  Neither  threats  nor  pro- 
mises could  move  them.  They  were  quite  of  a  distinct  caste 
from  the  Princes  who  had  betrayed  the  cause  of  the  Keforma- 
tion  at  Worms  ;  they  were  conscious  of  the  risk  they  ran,  and 
were  ready  to  die  for  their  religious  convictions.  It  is  true 
they  were  greatly  encouraged  by  Luther,  who,  in  order  to  be 
nearer  to  them  while  the  Diet  was  held  at  Augsburg,  had 
repaired  to  Coburg.  He  addressed  to  the  Prince  Elector  of 
Saxony  from  his  second  "  Patmos,"  as  it  were,  letters  of  exhor- 
tation and  comfort,  full  of  energy  and  of  that  irresistible 
eloquence  which  is  the  result  of  inner  conviction.  Whenever 
the  Princes  and  Melanchthon  wavered,  they  were  inspired  by 
Luther's  cheering  and  manly  words,  which  proved  particularly 
effective  during  the  course  of  the  Diet. 

The  religious  contest  being  the  first  subject  which  was 
brought  before  the  Diet,  the  Protestant  Princes  presented,  on 
25th  June,  1530,  their  "  Confession  of  Faith,"  which  had  been 
prepared  by  Melanchthon.  There  were  two  versions  of  it, 
one  in  German  and  another  in  Latin.  The  Emperor  naturally 
desired  to  have  the  second  version  read,  but  the  Protestant 
Princes  advised  him  patriotically  to  admit  on  German  soil 
the  German  version.  This  step  may  be  considered  as  one  of 
the  results  of  the  Keformation.  Luther  had  awakened  in  the 
Germans  the  feelings  of  nationality  and  patriotism,  and  had 
also  politically  freed  them  from  the  fetters  of  Koman  bondage. 

The  profession  of  faith  of  the  Protestant  Princes,  known 
as  the  "  Augsburg  Confession,"  was  drawn  up  in  such  a  con- 
ciliatory spirit  and  contained  so  many  concessions  to  Koman 
Catholicism,  that  some  kind  of  agreement  seemed  to  be  possible, 
if  not  near  at  hand.  The  Protestants  had  now  honestly  ful- 
filled their  duty.     In  accordance  with  the  Imperial  rescript 


OF   THE   REFORMATION  lxxxiii 

they  had  laid  their  profession  of  faith  before  the  Diet ;  and 
confidently  expecting  a  similar  profession  on  the  part  of  the 
Roman  Catholics,  they  looked  forward  to  the  promised  mediation 
of  the  Emperor.  But  instead  of  drawing  up  a  declaration  in 
a  defensive  and  conciliatory  spirit,  as  had  been  done  by  the 
Protestants,  the  Catholic  party  at  the  Diet  forming  the 
majority,  issued  an  aggressive  "  Refutation,"  which,  receiving 
the  Emperor's  full  approval,  was  issued  in  his  name,  with  the 
appended  threat,  that  in  case  the  Protestants  should  hence- 
forth not  obediently  return  to  the  Roman  Catholic  faith, 
"  the  Emperor  would  proceed  against  them  as  befitted  a  Roman 
Emperor — the  protector  and  defender  of  the  Church."  Mani- 
fest proofs  that  the  admonitions  of  Charles  V.  were  not  mere 
empty  threats  were  soon  given.  He  made  the  Protestant 
Princes  individually  feel  his  displeasure,  and  he  seemed  fully 
determined  to  give  effect  to  his  threats  by  the  force  of  arms. 
Fortunately  the  warning  of  the  Prince  Elector  of  Mentz  in 
reference  to  the  Turks  of  Hannibal  ad  portas,  had  the  desirable 
effect  of  paving  the  way  for  mediation. 

At  the  Conference  which  was  held  in  August,  1530,  for  the 
purpose  of  effecting  an  agreement  between  the  contending 
parties,  a  spirit  of  reconciliation  prevailed.  Both  sides  made 
concessions,  and  it  was  agreed  to  refer  certain  points  of  difference 
which  were  still  pending  to  a  General  Council ;  so  that  there 
was  a  near  prospect  of  a  mutual  understanding.  Some  agree- 
ment would,  in  all  probability,  have  been  brought  about,  but 
for  the  relentless  spirit  of  fanaticism  of  the  Roman  Curia,  as 
represented  by  the  Legate  Campeggi.  It  was  he  who  frustrated 
the  success  of  all  further  attempts  at  a  reconciliation  by  induc- 
ing the  Emperor  and  the  majority  of  the  Diet  to  make  such 
conditions  as  the  Protestants  could  not  accept.  The  allied 
Princes  remained  firm,  and  as  the  attitude  of  the  Imperial 
Court  became  more  and  more  threatening,  and  the  Theologians 
could  not  agree  among  themselves,  the  energetic  Landgrave 
Philip  of  Hesse  suddenly  left  Augsburg  at  the  beginning  of 
August.     The   Emperor  was  so  startled   by  this   unexpected 

9 


lxxxiv  THE    POLITICAL   COURSE 

event,  that  lie  ordered  the  gates  of  the  city  to  be  watched  by 
his  soldiers ;  but,  too  late,  the  bird  had  already  flown.  The 
Prince  Elector  of  Saxony  still  remained  behind,  but  his  son,  the 
hereditary  Prince,  had  some  time  previously  returned  home  and 
was  now  in  perfect  safety.  It  was,  therefore,  useless  to  attempt 
a  coup  de  main  against  the  leaders  of  the  Protestant  party. 

The  Emperor's  disappointment  was  great,  and  the  more  so,  as 
he  was  indignant  against  the  Protestant  Princes  on  account  of 
their  refusing  to  consent  to  the  election  of  his  brother  Ferdi- 
nand as  "  King  of  Rome."  Charles  V.  now  proceeded  to  the 
last  step  which  made  the  breach  between  the  two  great 
portions  of  the  German  nation  irremediable.  On  the  22nd  of 
September,  1530,  he  communicated  to  the  Estates  the  draft 
of  the  Decree  upon  which  he  had  resolved  with  reference  to 
the  religious  contest,  and  which  announced  his  determination 
"  to  carry  out  unconditionally  the  Edict  of  Worms."  The  Pro- 
testants were  treated  in  that  Decree  as  a  mere  sect,  and  their 
doctrines — of  all  shades — were  indiscriminately  condemned. 
All  the  usages  of  the  old  creed  were  to  be  maintained  intact, 
and  the  rights  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Princes  were  to  be  fully 
restored,  under  pain  of  the  Imperial  ban.  This  Imperial 
Decree,  which  was  virtually  a  total  abolition  of  the  work  of 
the  Reformation,  was  finally  issued  on  the  19th  of  November 
with  the  additional  clause — which  savoured  of  mockery — that  a 
time  of  respite  should  be  granted  to  the  Protestants  until  the 
15th  April,  1531,  to  enable  them  to  declare  their  adhesion  to  the 
contested  points.  In  the  meantime  the  Emperor  was  to  use  his 
efforts  with  the  Pope  to  convene  a  General  Council  to  discuss 
the  abolition  of  certain  unquestionable  abuses  in  the  Church. 

This  amounted  to  an  open  declaration  of  war,  and  the  Pro- 
testant Princes  were  prudent  enough  to  take  their  measures 
accordingly. 

XL 

The  Diet  of  Augsburg  in  1530  may  be  considered,  in  some 
respeets,  as  the  key-stone  in  the  religious  and  political  course 


OF   THE    REFORMATION  lxxxv 

of  the  Reformation.  The  "  Augsburg  Confession  "  practically 
completed  the  work  of  the  Reformation  from  a  religious  point 
of  view,  whilst  the  Imperial  Edict  marked  out  in  distinct 
features  the  line  of  action  which  the  Papal  and  Imperial  party- 
was  resolved  to  pursue  towards  the  Protestants.  It  was  an 
ultimatum  in  due  form.  All  the  subsequent  events  in  the 
history  of  the  Reformation — even  as  far  down  as  the  Peace 
of  Westphalia  in  1648 — must,  therefore,  be  regarded  as 
merely  the  natural  sequence  of  the  Diet  of  Augsburg,  and 
do  not  actually  belong  to  the  making  or  unmaking  of  the 
Reformation. 

The  stern  necessity  of  self-defence  caused  at  last  the 
Protestant  Princes  to  form  the  "Convention"  or  "League  of 
Smalkald"  in  December  1530.  Even  Luther  was  induced  to 
approve  of  it,  and  some  of  his  writings,  more  especially  his 
'  Warning  to  my  beloved  Germans,'  showed  that  he  no  longer 
viewed  self-defence  in  the  light  of  rebellion.  The  schism 
among  the  Germans  was  now  political  as  well  as  religious.  A 
compact  body  stood  armed,  not  against  the  sovereign  power  of 
the  German  Empire,  but  against  the  Roman  Emperor  of  the 
German  nation;  against  the  monarch  who  identified  himself 
with  the  Pope.  Charles  V.  fully  recognised  the  drift  of  the 
Protestant  opposition,  and  it  is  not  quite  improbable  that  on 
account  of  it  he  insisted  on  the  speedy  election  and  coronation 
of  his  brother  Ferdinand  as  "  Roman  King,"  which  took  place 
at  Cologne  at  the  end  of  1530,  and  at  Aix-la-Chapelle  at  the 
beginning  of  the  following  year.  The  Protestant  Princes 
protested  against  this  proceeding,  as  being  contrary  to  the  Im- 
perial Constitution  of  Germany ;  but  we  have  already  seen  that 
Charles  cared  very  little  either  for  the  laws  or  the  aspirations 
of  the  German  people.  The  illegal  election  of  Ferdinand 
necessarily  widened  the  breach  between  the  Emperor  and  the 
Protestant  Princes,  who  plainly  saw  the  danger  impending 
from  the  supremacy  of  the  house  of  Hapsburg. 

The  Dukes  of  Bavaria,  who  also  aspired  to  the  Imperial 
dignity,  looked  grudgingly  on   the   ascendency  of  the  Haps- 


lxxxvi  THE    POLITICAL   COURSE 

burgs,  and  seemed  inclined — staunch  Eoman  Catholics  though 
they  were — to  make  common  cause  with  the  Protestants. 
Moreover  the  Turks  were  again  threatening  an  invasion 
of  the  Austro-German  provinces,  and  all  these  circumstances 
combined,  induced  the  Emperor  to  conclude  with  the  Pro- 
testant Princes,  in  the  summer  of  1532,  the  "  Peace  of 
Nuremberg."  Considerable  concessions  were  made  to  the 
Protestants,  and  the  promise  of  a  "  General,  free  and  Christian 
Council,"  was  again  held  out ;  but  of  far  greater  moment  was 
the  fact,  that  by  consenting  to  the  "  Peace  of  Nuremberg,"  the 
Emperor  actually  recognised  the  members  of  the  "  Smalkaldic 
League  "  as  a  regularly  constituted  power,  with  which  it  was 
desirable  to  come  to  an  amicable  understanding.  The  political 
element,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  had  been  at  work  throughout 
the  course  of  the  Eeformation,  became  henceforth  a  more 
and  more  powerful  factor  in  the  struggle  between  the  two 
hostile  camps  of  the  German  nation. 

After  the  Diet  of  Augsburg  in  1530,  Charles  was  again  oc- 
cupied with  his  military  enterprises  abroad,  and  remained  absent 
from  Germany  for  the  space  of  nine  years.  His  brother,  King 
Ferdinand  I.,  was  likewise  prevented  from  effectively  inter- 
fering with  religious  affairs  in  consequence  of  the  troubles  in 
his  hereditary  dominions,  and  so  the  Eeformation  had^gain  free 
scope  to  make  its  way  through  the  greater  portion  of  Germany. 
The  indulgence  granted  to  the  Protestants  was,  however, 
apparent  only.  Both  Charles  and  his  brother  treacherously 
bided  their  time  to  enter  on  the  struggle  of  annihilation 
against  them.  That  time  seemed  to  them  to  have  arrived 
when  Charles,  in  conjunction  with  Henry  VIII.,  had  forced 
the  King  of  France  to  sign  the  Peace  of  Crepy  in  1544. 
It  is  true  the  Emperor  consented  to  convene  a  Council 
in  December,  1545,  and  so  he  did  at  Trent,  but  the  Princes 
of  Hesse  and  Saxony  justly  declined  to  attend  it.  The 
Emperor's  hostile  intentions  against  the  Protestants  now 
became  patent,  first  by  his  renewed  League  with  Paul  III., 
the  successor  of  Pope  Clement  VII.,  and  afterwards  by  the 


OF   THE   REFOKMATION  lxxxvii 

mustering  of  his  forces.  If  the  Protestants  had  acted  with 
energy  and  concord  they  might,  with  the  greatest  ease,  have 
defeated  the  small  Imperial  forces  in  the  summer  of  1545 ; 
but  instead  of  this  they  gave  the  Emperor  full  time  to  collect 
a  considerable  army. 

In  the  meantime  Martin  Luther,  the  life  and  soul  of  the 
Eeformation,  had  died  on  the  18th  of  February,  1546,  and 
was  spared  the  pain  of  witnessing  the  outbreak  of  the  un- 
fortunate Smalkaldic  War,  which  laid  Germany  prostrate  at 
the  feet  of  the  Emperor  and  his  Spaniards.  This  calamity 
was,  of  course,  due  mostly  to  the  fact  that  the  old  German 
Empire  identified  itself  with  the  Papacy  and  considered  itself 
bound  to  defend  its  cause.  It  is,  however,  a  significant  fact, 
that  Charles  V.  was  actually  the  last  Roman  Emperor  of 
Germany  crowned  by  a  Pope.  When  he  proceeded  for  his 
coronation,  in  1530,  to  the  Church  of  St.  Petronio  at  Bologna, 
through  a  wooden  structure  which  had  been  erected  to  connect 
his  Palace  with  the  church,  the  temporary  passage  gave  way  a 
few  steps  behind  the  Emperor.  Popular  superstition  saw  in 
this  an  evil  omen — for  Germany,  it  proved  to  be  a  happy  one 
— and  prophesied  that  Charles  would  be  the  last  German 
Emperor  thus  crowned.  The  prophecy  became  true,  but  it 
was  not  in  Italy  that  the  link  was  broken  which  connected 
Germany  with  Eome.  This  was  done  in  Germany  itself,  and 
as  we  have  seen,  by  the  humble  peasants'  son,  Maetin  Luther. 

Luther  it  was  who  actually  freed  Germany  from  the  secular 
and  spiritual  bondage  of  Rome ;  for  although  the  Protestants 
had  been  vanquished  in  the  Smalkaldic  war,  they  were  not 
entirely  crushed.  The  spirit  of  the  Reformation  survived,  and 
exercised  its  beneficial  influence  not  only  throughout  Ger- 
many, but  over  the  whole  of  the  civilised  world,  and  it  is  in  this 
sense  that  the  Reformation  is  universally  considered  as  the 
beginning  of  a  New  Era  in  the  history  of  the  world.  The 
Reformation  is  the  source,  directly  or  indirectly,  by  action  or 
by  reaction,  of  everything  great  and  noble  which  has  taken 
place   from   about   the   beginning   of   the   sixteenth  century. 


lxxxviii     THE   POLITICAL   COURSE   OF   THE   REFORMATION" 

Through  the  Keformation  alone  men  of  all  creeds  have  become 
free  and  enlightened.  And  this  is  the  reason  why  not  only 
the  Theologian,  but  also  the  political  and  literary  Historian 
hails  the  work  of  the  Eeformation  as  one  of  the  greatest 
blessings  ever  bestowed  on  mankind. 


FIRST  PRINCIPLES 


THE   KEFOPtMATION 


THE  NINETY-FIVE   THESES. 


INTRODUCTORY  LETTEE. 

To  the  most  Reverend  Father  in  Christ  and  most  illustrious 
Lord,  Albert,  Archbishop  and  Primate  of  the  Churches  of 
Magdeburg  and  Mentz,  Marquis  of  Brandenburg,  etc.,  his  lord 
and  pastor  in  Christ,  most  gracious  and  worthy  of  all  fear  and 
reverence — 

Jesus. 

The  grace  of  God  be  with  you,  and  whatsoever  it  is  and 
can  do. 

Spare  me,  most  reverend  Father  in  Christ,  most  illustrious 
Prince,  if  I,  the  very  dregs  of  humanity,  have  dared  to  think  of 
addressing  a  letter  to  the  eminence  of  your  sublimity.  The 
Lord  Jesus  is  my  witness  that,  in  the  consciousness  of  my  own 
pettiness  and  baseness,  I  have  long  put  off  the  doing  of  that 
which  I  have  now  hardened  my*forehead  to  perform,  moved 
thereto  most  especially  by  the  sense  of  that  faithful  duty 
which  I  feel  that  I  owe  to  your  most  reverend  Fatherhood  in 
Christ.  May  your  Highness  then  in  the  meanwhile  deign  to 
cast  your  eyes  upon  one  grain  of  dust,  and,  in  your  pontifical 
clemency,  to  understand  my  prayer. 

Papal  indulgences  are  being  carried  about,  under  your  most 
distinguished  authority,  for  the  building  of  St.  Peter's.  In 
respect  of  these  I  do  not  so  much  accuse  the  extravagant 
sayings  of  the  preachers,  which  I  have  not  heard,  but  I  grieve 
at  the  very  false  ideas  which  the  people  conceive  from 
them,  and  which  are  spread  abroad  in  common  talk  on  every 
ude — namely,  that  unhappy  souls  believe  that,  if  they  buy 
3tters  of  indulgences,  they  are  sure  of  their  salvation;  also, 
that,  as  soon  as  they  have  thrown  their  contribution  into  the 


4  INTRODUCTORY   LETTER 

chest,  souls  forthwith  fly  out  of  purgatory ;  and  furthermore, 
that  so  great  is  the  grace  thus  conferred,  that  there  is  no  sin 
so  great — even,  as  they  say,  if,  by  an  impossibility,  any  one 
had  violated  the  Mother  of  God — but  that  it  may  be  pardoned  ; 
and  again,  that  by  these  indulgences  a  man  is  freed  from  all 
punishment  and  guilt. 

0  gracious  God !  it  is  thus  that  the  souls  committed  to  your 
care,  most  excellent  Father,  are  being  taught  unto  their  death, 
and  a  most  severe  account,  which  you  will  have  to  render  for 
all  of  them,  is  growing  and  increasing.  Hence  I  have  not 
been  able  to  keep  silence  any  longer  on  this  subject,  for  by  no 
function  of  a  bishop's  office  can  a  man  become  sure  of  salvation, 
since  he  does  not  even  become  sure  through  the  grace  of  God 
infused  into  him,  but  the  Apostle  bids  us  to  be  ever  working 
out  our  salvation  in  fear  and  trembling.  (Phil.  ii.  12.)  Even 
the  righteous  man — says  Peter — shall  scarcely  be  saved. 
(1  Pet.  iv.  18.)  In  fine,  so  narrow  is  the  way  which  leads 
unto  life,  that  the  Lord,  speaking  by  the  prophets  Amos  and 
Zachariah,  calls  those  who  are  to  be  saved  brands  snatched 
from  the  burning,  and  our  Lord  everywhere  declares  the 
difficulty  of  salvation. 

Why  then,  by  these  false  stories  and  promises  of  pardon, 
do  the  preachers  of  them  make  the  people  to  feel  secure  and 
without  fear  ?  since  indulgences  confer  absolutely  no  good  on 
souls  as  regards  salvation  or  holiness,  but  only  take  away 
the  outward  penalty  which  was  wont  of  old  to  be  canonically 
imposed. 

Lastly,  works  of  piety  and  charity  are  infinitely  better  than 
indulgences,  and  yet  they  do  not  preach  these  with  such 
display  or  so  much  zeal;  nay,  they  keep  silence  about  them 
for  the  sake  of  preaching  pardons.  And  yet  it  is  the  first  and 
sole  duty  of  all  bishops,  that  the  people  should  learn  the 
Gospel  and  Christian  charity  :  for  Christ  nowhere  commands 
that  indulgences  should  be  preached.  What  a  dreadful  thing 
it  is  then,  what  peril  to  a  bishop,  if,  while  the  Gospel  is  passed 
over  in  silence,  he  permits  nothing  but  the  noisy  outcry  of 
indulgences  to  be  spread  among  his  people,  and  bestows  more 
care  on  these  than  on  the  Gospel !  Will  not  Christ  say  to 
them  :  "  Straining  at  a  gnat,  and  swallowing  a  camel "  ? 

Besides  all  this,  most  reverend  Father  in  the  Lord,  in  that 


TO   THE    NINETY-FIVE   THESES  5 

instruction  to  the  commissaries  which  has  been  put  forth  under 
the  name  of  your  most  reverend  Fatherhood  it  is  stated — 
doubtless  without  the  knowledge  and  consent  of  your  most 
reverend  Fatherhood — that  one  of  the  principal  graces  conveyed 
by  indulgences  is  that  inestimable  gift  of  God,  by  which  man 
is  reconciled  to  God,  and  all  the  pains  of  purgatory  are  done 
away  with;  and  further,  that  contrition  is  not  necessary  for 
those  who  thus  redeem  souls  or  buy  confessional  licences. 

But  what  can  I  do,  excellent  Primate  and  most  illustrious 
Prince,  save  to  entreat  your  reverend  Fatherhood,  through  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  deign  to  turn  on  us  the  eye  of  fatherly 
care,  and  to  suppress  that  advertisement  altogether  and  impose 
on  the  preachers  of  pardons  another  form  of  preaching,  lest 
perchance  some  one  should  at  length  arise  who  will  put  forth 
writings  in  confutation  of  them  and  of  their  advertisements, 
to  the  deepest  reproach  of  your  most  illustrious  Highness.  It 
is  intensely  abhorrent  to  me  that  this  should  be  done,  and  yet 
I  fear  that  it  will  happen,  unless  the  evil  be  speedily  remedied. 

This  faithful  discharge  of  my  humble  duty  I  entreat  that 
your  most  illustrious  Grace  will  deign  to  receive  in  a  princely 
and  bishoplike  spirit — that  is,  with  all  clemency — even  as  I 
offer  it  with  a  most  faithful  heart,  and  one  most  devoted  to  your 
most  reverend  Fatherhood,  since  I  too  am  part  of  your  flock. 
May  the  Lord  Jesus  keep  your  most  reverend  Fatherhood  for 
ever  and  ever.     Amen. 

From  Wittemberg,  on  the  eve  of  All  Saints,  in  the  year 
1517. 

If  it  so  please  your  most  reverend  Fatherhood,  you  may  look 
at  these  Disputations,  that  you  may  perceive  how  dubious  a 
matter  is  that  opinion  about  indulgences,  which  they  dis- 
seminate as  if  it  were  most  certain. 

To  your  most  reverend  Fatherhood, 

Martin  Luther. 


b  2 


THE   NINETY-FIVE   THESES 


DISPUTATION  OF  DB.  MAETIN  LUTHEE  CONCEBNING 
PENITENCE  AND  INDULGENCES. 

In  the  desire  and  with  the  purpose  of  elucidating  the  truth, 
a  disputation  will  be  held  on  the  underwritten  propositions  at 
Wittemberg,  under  the  presidency  of  the  Eeverend  Father 
Martin  Luther,  Monk  of  the  Order  of  St.  Augustine,  Master  of 
Arts  and  of  Sacred  Theology,  and  ordinary  Eeader  of  the  same 
in  that  place.  He  therefore  asks  those  who  cannot  be  present 
and  discuss  the  subject  with  us  orally,  to  do  so  by  letter  in  their 
absence.     In  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.     Amen. 

1.  Our  Lord  and  Master  Jesus  Christ  in  saying  :  "  Eepent 
ye," *  etc.,  intended  that  the  whole  life  of  believers  should  be 
penitence. 

2.  This  word  cannot  be  understood  of  sacramental  penance, 
that  is,  of  the  confession  and  satisfaction  which  are  performed 
under  the  ministry  of  priests. 

3.  It  does  not,  however,  refer  solely  to  inward  penitence; 
nay  such  inward  penitence  is  naught,  unless  it  outwardly 
produces  various  mortifications  of  the  flesh. 

4.  The  penalty 2  thus  continues  as  long  as  the  hatred  of  self 
— that  is,  true  inward  penitence — continues ;  namely,  till  our 
entrance  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

5.  The  Pope  has  neither  the  will  nor  the  power  to  remit 
any  penalties,  except  those  which  he  has  imposed  by  his  own 
authority,  or  by  that  of  the  canons. 

6.  The  Pope  has  no  power  to  remit  any  guilt,  except  by 
declaring  and  warranting  it  to  have  been  remitted  by  God  ;  or 
at  most  by  remitting  cases  reserved  for  himself;  in  which 
cases,  if  his  power  were  despised,  guilt  would  certainly  remain. 

7.  God  never  remits  any  man's  guilt,  without  at  the  same 

1  In  the  Latin,  from  the  Vulgate,  "  agite  pcenitentiam,"  sometimes  translated 
"  Do  penance."  The  effect  of  the  following  theses  depends  to  some  extent  on 
the  double  meaning  of  "pcenitentia  " — penitence  and  penance. 

2  I.e.  "Poena"  the  connection  between  "poena  "  and  " pcmitewHa  "  being 
again  suggestive. 


CONCERNING   INDULGENCES  7 

time  subjecting  him,  humbled  in  all  things,  to  the  authority 
of  his  representative  the  priest. 

8.  The  penitential  canons  are  imposed  only  on  the  living, 
and  no  burden  ought  to  be  imposed  on  the  dying,  according  to 
them. 

9.  Hence  the  Holy  Spirit  acting  in  the  Pope  does  well  for  us, 
in  that,  in  his  decrees,  he  always  makes  exception  of  the 
article  of  death  and  of  necessity. 

10.  Those  priests  act  wrongly  and  unlearnedly,  who,  in  the 
case  of  the  dying,  reserve  the  canonical  penances  for  pur- 
gatory. 

^1.  Those  tares  about  changing  of  the  canonical  penalty  into 
the  penalty  of  purgatory  seem  surely  to  have  been  sown  while 
the  bishops  were  asleep. 

12.  Formerly  the  canonical  penalties  were  imposed  not 
after,  but  before  absolution,  as  tests  of  true  contrition. 

13.  The  dying  pay  all  penalties  by  death,  and  are  already 
dead  to  the  canon  laws,  and  are  by  right  relieved  from  them. 

14.  The  imperfect  soundness  or  charity  of  a  dying  person 
necessarily  brings  with  it  great  fear,  and  the  less  it  is,  the 
greater  the  fear  it  brings. 

15.  This  fear  and  horror  is  sufficient  by  itself,  to  say  nothing 
of  other  things,  to  constitute  the  pains  of  purgatory,  since  it  is 
very  near  to  the  horror  of  despair. 

16.  Hell,  purgatory,  and  heaven  appear  to  differ  as  despair, 
almost  despair,  and  peace  of  mind  differ. 

17.  With  souls  in  purgatory  it  seems  that  it  must  needs  be 
that,  as  horror  diminishes,  so  charity  increases. 

18.  Nor  does  it  seem  to  be  proved  by  any  reasoning  or  any 
scriptures,  that  they  are  outside  of  the  state  of  merit  or  of  the 
increase  of  charity. 

19.  Nor  does  this  appear  to  be  proved,  that  they  are  sure 
and  confident  of  their  own  blessedness,  at  least  all  of  them, 
though  we  may  be  very  sure  of  it. 

20.  Therefore  the  Pope,  when  he  speaks  of  the  plenary 
remission  of  all  penalties,  does  not  mean  simply  of  all,  but 
only  of  those  imposed  by  himself. 

21.  Thus  those  preachers  of  indulgences  are  in  error  who 
say  that,  by  the  indulgences  of  the  Pope,  a  man  is  loosed  and 
saved  from  all  punishment 


8  THE   NINETY-FIVE   THESES 

22.  For  in  fact  he  remits  to  souls  in  purgatory  no  penalty 
which  they  would  have  had  to  pay  in  this  life  according  to  the 
canons. 

23.  If  any  entire  remission  of  all  penalties  can  be  granted 
to  any  one,  it  is  certain  that  it  is  granted  to  none  but  the  most 
perfect,  that  is,  to  very  few. 

24.  Hence  the  greater  part  of  the  people  must  needs  be 
deceived  by  this  indiscriminate  and  high-sounding  promise  of 
release  from  penalties. 

25.  Such  power  as  the  Pope  has  over  purgatory  in  general, 
such  has  every  bishop  in  his  own  diocese,  and  every  curate  in 
his  own  parish,  in  particular. 

26.  The  Pope  acts  most  rightly  in  granting  remission  to 
souls,  not  by  the  power  of  the  keys  (which  is  of  no  avail  in  this 
case)  but  by  the  way  of  suffrage. 

27.  They  preach  man,  who  say  that  the  soul  flies  out  of 
purgatory  as  soon  as  the  money  thrown  into  the  chest 
rattles. 

28.  It  is  certain  that,  when  the  money  rattles  in  the  chest, 
avarice  and  gain  may  be  increased,  but  the  suffrage  of  the 
Church  depends  on  the  will  of  God  alone. 

29.  Who  knows  whether  all  the  souls  in  purgatory  desire  to 
be  redeemed  from  it,  according  to  the  story  told  of  Saints 
Severinus  and  Paschal. 

30.  No  man  is  sure  of  the  reality  of  his  own  contrition,  much 
less  of  the  attainment  of  plenary  remission. 

31.  Eare  as  is  a  true  penitent,  so  rare  is  one  who  truly  buys 
indulgences — that  is  to  say,  most  rare. 

32.  Those  who  believe  that,  through  letters  of  pardon,  they 
are  made  sure  of  their  own  salvation,  will  be  eternally  damned 
along  with  their  teachers. 

33.  We  must  especially  beware  of  those  who  say  that  these 
pardons  from  the  Pope  are  that  inestimable  gift  of  God  by 
which  man  is  reconciled  to  God. 

34.  For  the  grace  conveyed  by  these  pardons  has  respect 
only  to  the  penalties  of  sacramental  satisfaction,  which  are  of 
human  appointment. 

35.  They  preach  no  Christian  doctrine,  who  teach  that 
contrition  is  not  necessary  for  those  who  buy  souls  out  of 
purgatory  or  buy  confessional  licences. 


CONCERNING   INDULGENCES  9 

36.  Every  Christian  who  feels  true  compunction  has  of  right 
plenary  remission  of  pain  and  guilt,  even  without  letters  of 
pardon. 

37.  Every  true  Christian,  whether  living  or  dead,  has  a  share 
in  all  the  benefits  of  Christ  and  of  the  Church,  given  him  by 
God,  even  without  letters  of  pardon. 

38.  The  remission,  however,  imparted  by  the  Pope  is  by  eo 
means  to  be  despised,  since  it  is,  as  I  have  said,  a  declaration 
of  the  Divine  remission. 

39.  It  is  a  most  difficult  thing,  even  for  the  most  learned 
theologians,  to  exalt  at  the  same  time  in  the  eyes  of  the  people 
the  ample  effect  of  pardons  and  the  necessity  of  true  contrition. 

40.  True  contrition  seeks  and  loves  punishment ;  while  the 
ampleness  of  pardons  relaxes  it,  and  causes  men  to  hate  it,  or 
at  least  gives  occasion  for  them  to  do  so. 

41.  Apostolical  pardons  ought  to  be  proclaimed  with  caution, 
lest  the  people  should  falsely  suppose  that  they  are  placed 
before  other  good  works  of  charity. 

42.  Christians  should  be  taught  that  it  is  not  the  mind  of 
the  Pope  that  the  buying  of  pardons  is  to  be  in  any  way 
compared  to  works  of  mercy. 

43.  Christians  should  be  taught  that  he  who  gives  to  a  poor 
man,  or  lends  to  a  needy  man,  does  better  than  if  he  bought 
pardons. 

44.  Because,  by  a  work  of  charity,  charity  increases,  and  the 
man  becomes  better ;  while,  by  means  of  pardons,  he  does  not 
become  better,  but  only  freer  from  punishment. 

45.  Christians  should  be  taught  that  he  who  sees  any  one  in 
need,  and,  passing  him  by,  gives  money  for  pardons,  is  not 
purchasing  for  himself  the  indulgences  of  the  Pope,  but  the 
anger  of  God. 

46.  Christians  should  be  taught  that,  unless  they  have 
superfluous  wealth,  they  are  bound  to  keep  what  is  necessary 
for  the  use  of  their  own  households,  and  by  no  means  to  lavish 
it  on  pardons. 

47.  Christians  should  be  taught  that,  while  they  are  free  to 
buy  pardons,  they  are  not  commanded  to  do  so. 

48.  Christians  should  be  taught  that  the  Pope,  in  granting 
pardons,  has  both  more  need  and  more  desire  that  devout  prayer 
should  be  made  for  him,  than  that  money  should  be  readily  paid. 


y 


10  THE   NINETY-FIVE   THESES 

49.  Christians  should  be  taught  that  the  Pope's  pardons  are 
useful,  if  they  do  not  put  their  trust  in  them,  but  most  hurtful, 
if  through  them  they  lose  the  fear  of  God. 

50.  Christians  should  be  taught  that,  if  the  Pope  were 
acquainted  with  the  exactions  of  the  preachers  of  pardons, 
he  would  prefer  that  the  Basilica  of  St.  Peter  should  be  burnt 
to  ashes,  than  that  it  should  be  built  up  with  the  skin,  flesh, 
and  bones  of  his  sheep. 

51.  Christians  should  be  taught  that,  as  it  would  be  the 
duty,  so  it  would  be  the  wish  of  the  Pope,  even  to  sell,  if 
necessary,  the  Basilica  of  St.  Peter,  and  to  give  of  his  own 
money  to  very  many  of  those  from  whom  the  preachers  of 
pardons  extract  money. 

52.  Yain  is  the  hope  of  salvation  through  letters  of  pardon, 
even  if  a  commissary — nay,  the  Pope  himself — were  to  pledge 
his  own  soul  for  them. 

53.  They  are  enemies  of  Christ  and  of  the  Pope,  who,  in  order 
that  pardons  may  be  preached,  condemn  the  word  of  God  to 
utter  silence  in  other  churches. 

54.  Wrong  is  done  to  the  word  of  God  when,  in  the  same 
sermon,  an  equal  or  longer  time  is  spent  on  pardons  than 
on  it. 

55.  The  mind  of  the  Pope  necessarily  is  that,  if  pardons, 
which  are  a  very  small  matter,  are  celebrated  with  single  bells, 
single  processions,  and  single  ceremonies,  the  Gospel,  which  is 
a  very  great  matter,  should  be  preached  with  a  hundred  bells, 
a  hundred  processions,  and  a  hundred  ceremonies. 

56.  The  treasures  of  the  Church,  whence  the  Pope  grants 
indulgences,  are  neither  sufficiently  named  nor  known  among 
the  people  of  Christ. 

57.  It  is  clear  that  they  are  at  least  not  temporal  treasures, 
for  these  are  not  so  readily  lavished,  but  only  accumulated,  by 
many  of  the  preachers. 

58.  Nor  are  they  the  merits  of  Christ  and  of  the  saints,  for 
these,  independently  of  the  Pope,  are  always  working  grace 
to  the  inner  man,  and  the  cross,  death,  and  hell  to  the  outer 
man. 

59.  St.  Lawrence  said  that  the  treasures  of  the  Church  are 
the  poor  of  the  Church,  but  he  spoke  according  to  the  use  of 
the  word  in  his  time. 


CONCERNING   INDULGENCES  11 

60.  We  are  not  speaking  rashly  when  we  say  that  the 
keys  of  the  Church,  bestowed  through  the  merits  of  Christ,  are 
that  treasure. 

61.  For  it  is  clear  that  the  power  of  the  Pope  is  alone 
sufficient  for  the  remission  of  penalties  and  of  reserved  cases. 

62.  The  true  treasure  of  the  Church  is  the  Holy  Gospel  of 
the  glory  and  grace  of  God. 

63.  This  treasure,  however,  is  deservedly  most  hateful, 
because  it  makes  the  first  to  be  last. 

64.  While  the  treasure  of  indulgences  is  deservedly  most 
acceptable,  because  it  makes  the  last  to  be  first. 

65.  Hence  the  treasures  of  the  Gospel  are  nets,  wherewith  of 
old  they  fished  for  the  men  of  riches. 

66.  The  treasures  of  indulgences  are  nets,  wherewith  they 
now  fish  for  the  riches  of  men. 

67.  Those  indulgences,  which  the  preachers  loudly  proclaim 
to  be  the  greatest  graces,  are  seen  to  be  truly  such  as  regards 
the  promotion  of  gain. 

68.  Yet  they  are  in  reality  in  no  degree  to  be  compared  to 
the  grace  of  God  and  the  piety  of  the  cross. 

69.  Bishops  and  curates  are  bound  to  receive  the  commissaries 
of  apostolical  pardons  with  all  reverence. 

70.  But  they  are  still  more  bound  to  see  to  it  with  all  their 
eyes,  and  take  heed  with  all  their  ears,  that  these  men  do  not 
preach  their  own  dreams  in  place  of  the  Pope's  commission. 

71.  He  who  speaks  against  the  truth  of  apostolical  pardons, 
let  him  be  anathema  and  accursed. 

72.  But  he,  on  the  other  hand,  who  exerts  himself  against 
the  wantonness  and  licence  of  speech  of  the  preachers  of 
pardons,  let  him  be  blessed. 

73.  As  the  Pope  justly  thunders  against  those  who  use  any 
kind  of  contrivance  to  the  injury  of  the  traffic  in  pardons, 

74.  Much  more  is  it  his  intention  to  thunder  against  those 
who,  under  the  pretext  of  pardons,  use  contrivances  to  the 
injury  of  holy  charity  and  of  truth. 

75.  To  think  that  Papal  pardons  have  such  power  that  they 
could  absolve  a  man  even  if — by  an  impossibility — he  had 
violated  the  Mother  of  God,  is  madness. 

76.  We  affirm  on  the  contrary  that  Papal  pardons  cannot 
take  away  even  the  least  of  venial  sins,  as  regards  its  guilt. 


12  THE    NINETY-FIVE    THESES 

77.  The  saying  that,  even  if  St.  Peter  were  now  Pope,  he 
could  grant  no  greater  graces,  is  blasphemy  against  St.  Peter 
and  the  Pope. 

78.  We  affirm  on  the  contrary  that  both  he  and  any  other 
Pope  has  greater  graces  to  grant,  namely,  the  Gospel,  powers, 
gifts  of  healing,  etc.     (1  Cor.  xii.  9.) 

79.  To  say  that  the  cross  set  up  among  the  insignia  of  the 
Papal  arms  is  of  equal  power  with  the  cross  of  Christ,  is 
blasphemy. 

80-  Those  bishops,  curates,  and  theologians  who  allow  such 
discourses  to  have  currency  among  the  people,  will  have  to 
render  an  account. 

81.  This  licence  in  the  preaching  of  pardons  makes  it  no  easy 
thing,  even  for  learned  men,  to  protect  the  reverence  due  to 
the  Pope  against  the  calumnies,  or,  at  all  events,  the  keen 
questionings  of  the  laity. 

82.  As  for  instance: — Why  does  not  the  Pope  empty 
purgatory  for  the  sake  of  most  holy  charity  and  of  the  supreme 
necessity  of  souls — this  being  the  most  just  of  all  reasons — if 
he  redeems  an  infinite  number  of  souls  for  the  sake  of  that 
most  fatal  thing  money,  to  be  spent  on  building  a  basilica — 
this  being  a  very  slight  reason  ? 

83.  Again ;  why  do  funeral  masses  and  anniversary  masses 
for  the  deceased  continue,  and  why  does  not  the  Pope  return, 
or  permit  the  withdrawal  of  the  funds  bequeathed  for  this 
purpose,  since  it  is  a  wrong  to  pray  for  those  who  are  already 
redeemed  ? 

84.  Again ;  what  is  this  new  kindness  of  God  and  the  Pope, 
in  that,  for  money's  sake,  they  permit  an  impious  man  and  an 
enemy  of  God  to  redeem  a  pious  soul  which  loves  God,  and  yet 
do  not  redeem  that  same  pious  and  beloved  soul,  out  of  free 
charity,  on  account  of  its  own  need  ? 

85.  Again  ;  why  is  it  that  the  penitential  canons,  long  since 
abrogated  and  dead  in  themselves  in  very  fact  and  not  only 
by  usage,  are  yet  still  redeemed  with  money,  through  the 
granting  of  indulgences,  as  if  they  were  full  of  life  ? 

86.  Again  ;  why  does  not  the  Pope,  whose  riches  are  at  this 
day  more  ample  than  those  of  the  wealthiest  of  the  wealthy, 
build  the  one  Basilica  of  St.  Peter  with  his  own  money,  rather 
than  with  that  of  poor  believers  ? 


CONCERNING   INDULGENCES  13 

87.  Again ;  what  does  the  Pope  remit  or  impart  to  those 
who,  through  perfect  contrition,  have  a  right  to  plenary  re- 
mission and  participation  ? 

88.  Again ;  what  greater  good  would  the  Church  receive  if 
the  Pope,  instead  of  once,  as  he  does  now,  were  to  bestow  these 
remissions  and  participations  a  hundred  times  a  day  on  any  one 
of  the  faithful  ? 

89.  Since  it  is  the  salvation  of  souls,  rather  than  money, 
that  the  Pope  seeks  by  his  pardons,  why  does  he  suspend  the 
letters  and  pardons  granted  long  ago,  since  they  are  equally 
efficacious. 

90.  To  repress  these  scruples  and  arguments  of  the  laity  by 
force  alone,  and  not  to  solve  them  by  giving  reasons,  is  to 
expose  the  Church  and  the  Pope  to  the  ridicule  of  their 
enemies,  and  to  make  Christian  men  unhappy. 

91.  If  then  pardons  were  preached  according  to  the  spirit 
and  mind  of  the  Pope,  all  these  questions  would  be  resolved 
with  ease  ;  nay,  would  not  exist. 

92.  Away  then  with  all  those  prophets  who  say  to  the  people 
of  Christ :  "  Peace,  peace,"  and  there  is  no  peace. 

93.  Blessed  be  all  those  prophets,  who  say  to  the  people  of 
Christ :  "  The  cross,  the  cross,"  and  there  is  no  cross. 

94.  Christians  should  be  exhorted  to  strive  to  follow  Christ 
their  head  through  pains,  deaths,  and  hells. 

95.  And  thus  trust  to  enter  heaven  through  many  tribulations, 
rather  than  in  the  security  of  peace. 

Protestation. 

I,  Martin  Luther,  Doctor,  of  the  Order  of  Monks  at  Wittem- 
berg,  desire  to  testify  publicly  that  certain  propositions  against 
pontifical  indulgences,  as  they  call  them,  have  been  put  forth 
by  me.  Now  although,  up  to  the  present  time,  neither  this 
most  celebrated  and  renowned  school  of  ours,  nor  any  civil  or 
ecclesiastical  power  has  condemned  me,  yet  there  are,  as  I  hear, 
some  men  of  headlong  and  audacious  spirit,  who  dare  to  pro- 
nounce me  a  heretic,  as  though  the  matter  had  been  thoroughly 
looked  into  and  studied.  But  on  my  part,  as  I  have  often  done 
before,  so  now  too  I  implore  all  men,  by  the  faith  of  Christ, 
either  to  point  out  to  me  a  better  way,  if  such  a  way  has  been 


14  THE   NINETY-FIVE   THESES 

divinely  revealed  to  any,  or  at  least  to  submit  their  opinion  to 
the  judgment  of  God  and  of  the  Church.  For  I  am  neither  so 
rash  as  to  wish  that  my  sole  opinion  should  be  preferred  to 
that  of  all  other  men,  nor  so  senseless  as  to  be  willing  that  the 
word  of  God  should  be  made  to  give  place  to  fables,  devised 
by  human  reason. 


THE   THEEE   PRIMARY   WORKS 

OF 

DR.  MARTIN  LUTHER. 


i. 

TO 

THE   CHRISTIAN   NOBILITY 

OF  THE 

GERMAN  NATION 

RESPECTING    THE    KEFORMATION 

OF   THE 

CHKISTIAN  ESTATE. 

JESUS. 


(     17 


DEDICATORY  LETTER. 

To  the  respected  and  worthy 

NICOLAUS    \ON    AMSDORF, 

Licentiate  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  Canon  of  Wittenberg,1 

My  particular  and  affectionate  friend. 

Dr.  MAETIN  LUTHER. 

The  Grace  and  Peace  of  God  be  with  you  !  Respected,  worthy 
Sir  and  dear  friend. 

The  time  for  silence  is  gone  and  the  time  to  speak  has  come, 
as  we  read  in  Ecclesiastes  (iii.  7.)  I  have  in  conformity  with 
our  resolve  put  together  some  few  points  concerning  the  Refor- 
mation of  the  Christian  Estate,  with  the  intent  of  placing  the 
same  before  the  Christian  Nobility  of  the  German  Nation,  in 
case  it  may  please  God  to  help  His  Church  by  means  of  the 
laity,  inasmuch  as  the  clergy,  whom  this  task  rather  befitted, 
have  become  quite  careless.  I  send  all  this  to  your  worship, 
to  judge  and  to  amend  where  needed.  I  am  well  aware  that 
I  shall  not  escape  the  reproach  of  taking  far  too  much  upon 
me,  in  presuming,  insignificant  as  I  am,  to  address  such  high 
estates  on  such  weighty  and  great  subjects  ;  as  if  there  were  no 
one  in  the  world  but  Dr.  Luther,  to  have  a  care  for  Christi- 
anity, and  to  give  advice  to  such  wise  people. 

Let  who  will  blame  me,  I  shall  not  offer  any  excuse. 
Perhaps  I  still  owe  God  and  the  world  another  folly.  This  debt 
I  have  now  resolved  honestly  to  discharge,  as  well  as  may  be, 
and  to  be  court  fool  for  once  in  my  life :  if  I  fail,  I  shall  at  any 
rate  gain  this  advantage,  that  no  one  need  buy  me  a  fool's  cap 
or  shave  my  poll.     But  it  remains  to  be  seen  which  shall  hang 

1  Nicolaus  von  Amsdorf  (1483-1565)  was  a  colleague  of  Luther  at  the 
University  of  Wittenberg,  and  one  of  his  most  zealous  fellow-workers  iii 
the  cause  of  the  Reformation. 


18  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS. 

the  bells  on  the  other.  I  must  fulfil  the  proverb  :  When  any- 
thing is  to  be  done  in  the  world,  a  monk  must  be  in  it,  were 
it  only  as  a  painted  figure.  I  suppose  it  has  often  happened 
that  a  fool  has  spoken  wisely,  and  wise  men  have  often  done 
foolishly,  as  St.  Paul  says  :  "  If  any  man  among  you  seemeth 
to  be  wise  in  this  world,  let  him  become  a  fool,  that  he  may  be 
wise."  (1  Cor.  iii.  18.) 

Now,  inasmuch  as  I  am  not  only  a  fool,  but  also  a  sworn 
doctor  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  I  am  glad  that  I  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  fulfilling  my  oath,  just  in  this  fool's  way.  I  beg  you 
to  excuse  me  to  the  moderately  wise :  for  I  know  not  how  to 
deserve  the  favour  and  grace  of  the  supremely  wise,  which  I 
have  so  often  sought  with  much  labour,  but  now  for  the  future 
shall  neither  have  nor  regard. 

God  help  us  to  seek  not  our  glory,  but  His  alone.     Amen. 

From  Wittenberg,  in  the  monastery  of  St.  Augustine,  on  the 
eve  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  in  the  year  1520. 


JESUS. 


To  his  most   Serene   and   Mighty   Imperial   Majesty,  and   to 
the  Christian  Nobility  of  the  German  Nation. 

Db.  maetinus  luthee. 

The  grace  and  might  of  God  be  with  you,  Most  Serene 
Majesty  !  most  gracious,  well  beloved  gentlemen  ! 

It  is  not  out  of  mere  arrogance  and  perversity  that  I,  a 
single  poor  man,  have  taken  upon  me  to  address  your  lord- 
ships. The  distress  and  misery  that  oppress  all  the  Christian 
estates,  more  especially  in  Germany,  have  led  not  only  myself, 
but  every  one  else,  to  cry  aloud  and  to  ask  for  help,  and  have 
now  forced  me  too,  to  cry  out  and  to  ask,  if  God  would  give 
His  Spirit  to  any  one,  to  reach  a  hand  to  His  wretched  people. 
Councils  have  often  put  forward  some  remedy,  but  through  the 
cunning  of  certain  men  it  has  been  adroitly  frustrated,  and  the 
evils  have  become  worse ;  whose  malice  and  wickedness  I  will 


ADDEESS   TO   THE   NOBILITY  19 

now,  by  the  help  of  God,  expose,  so  that,  being  known,  they  may 
henceforth  cease  to  be  so  obstructive  and  injurious.     God  has 
given  us  a  young  and  noble  sovereign,1  and  by  this  has  roused 
hope  in  many  hearts :  now  it  is  right  that  we  too  should  do . 
what  we  can,  and  make  good  use  of  time  and  grace. 

The  first  thing  that  we  must  do  is  to  consider  the  matter 
with  great  earnestness,  and,  whatever  we  attempt,  not  to  trust 
in  our  own  strength  and  wisdom  alone,  even  if  the  power  of 
all  the  world  were  ours ;  for  God  will  not  endure  that  a  good 
work  should  be  begun,  trusting  to  our  own  strength  and 
wisdom.  He  destroys  it ;  it  is  all  useless  :  as  we  read  in  the 
xxxiii.  Psalm.  "  There  is  no  king  saved  by  the  multitude  of  an 
host :  a  mighty  man  is  not  delivered  by  much  strength."  And 
I  fear  it  is  for  that  reason,  that  those  beloved  Princes,  the 
Emperors  Frederick,  the  First  and  the  Second,  and  many  other 
German  Emperors  were,  in  former  times,  so  piteously  spurned 
and  oppressed  by  the  Popes,  though  they  were  feared  by  all 
the  world.  Perchance  they  trusted  rather  in  their  own 
strength  than  in  God  ;  therefore  they  could  not  but  fall :  and 
how  would  the  sanguinary  tyrant  Julius  II.  have  risen  so 
high  in  our  own  days,  but,  that,  I  fear,  France,  the  Germans 
and  Venice  trusted  to  themselves  ?  The  children  of  Benjamin 
slew  forty-two  thousand  Israelites,  for  this  reason,  that  these 
trusted  to  their  own  strength.  (Judges  xx.  etc.) 

That  it  may  not  happen  thus  to  us  and  to  our  noble 
Emperor  Charles,  we  must  remember  that  in  this  matter  we 
wrestle  not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against  the  rulers  of 
the  darkness  of  this  world  (Eph.  vi.  12),  who  may  fill  the 
world  with  war  and  bloodshed,  but  cannot  themselves  be  over- 
come thereby.  We  must  renounce  all  confidence  in  our  natural 
strength,  and  take  the  matter  in  hand  with  humble  trust 
in  God;  we  must  seek  God's  help  with  earnest  prayer,  and 
have  nothing  before  our  eyes  but  the  misery  and  wretchedness 
of  Christendom,  irrespective  of  what  punishment  the  wicked 
may  deserve.  If  we  do  not  act  thus,  we  may  begin  the  game 
with  great  pomp ;  but  when  we  are  well  in  it,  the  spirits  of 
evil  will  make  such  confusion,  that  the  whole  world  will  be 
immersed  in  blood,  and  yet  nothing  be  done.  Therefore  let  us 
act  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  prudently.     The  greater  the  might 

1  Charles  V.  was  at  that  time  not  quite  twenty  years  of  age. 

C 


20  LUTHER  S  PRIMARY  WORKS 

of  the  foe,  the  greater  is  the  misfortune,  if  we  do  not  act  in  the 
fear  of  God,  and  with  humility.  As  Popes  and  Eomanist  s  have 
hitherto,  with  the  Devil's  help,  thrown  Kings  into  confusion, 
so  will  they  still  do,  if  we  attempt  things  with  our  own  Strength 
and  skill,  without  God's  help. 


I. 

The  Three  Walls  of  the  Eomanists. 

The  Eomanists  have,  with  great  adroitness,  drawn  three  walls 
round  themselves,  with  which  they  have  hitherto  protected 
themselves,  so  that  no  one  could  reform  them,  whereby  all 
Christendom  has  fallen  terribly. 

Firstly,  if  pressed  by  the  temporal  power,  they  have  affirmed 
and  maintained  that  the  temporal  power  has  no  jurisdiction 
over  them,  but  on  the  contrary  that  the  spiritual  power  is 
above  the  temporal. 

Secondly,  if  it  were  proposed  to  admonish  them  with  the 
Scriptures,  they  objected  that  no  one  may  interpret  the  Scrip- 
tures but  the  Pope. 

Thirdly,  if  they  are  threatened  with  a  Council,  they  pre- 
tend that  no  one  may  call  a  Council  but  the  Pope. 

Thus  they  have  secretly  stolen  our  three  rods,  so  that  they 
may  be  unpunished,  and  entrenched  themselves  behind  these 
three  walls,  to  act  with  all  wickedness  and  malice,  as  we  now 
see.  And  whenever  they  have  been  compelled  to  call  a 
Council,  they  have  made  it  of  no  avail,  by  binding  the  Princes 
beforehand  with  an  oath  to  leave  them  as  they  were.  Besides 
this  they  have  given  the  Pope  full  power  over  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  Council,  so  that  it  is  all  one,  whether  we  have 
many  Councils,  or  no  Councils,  for  in  any  case  they  deceive 
us  with  pretences  and  false  tricks.  So  grievously  do  they 
tremble  for  their  skin  before  a  true,  free  Council ;  and  thus 
they  have  overawed  Kings  and  Princes,  that  these  believe  they 
would  be  offending  God,  if  they  were  not  to  obey  them  in  all 
such  knavish,  deceitful  artifices. 

Now  may  God  help  us,  and  give  us  one  of  those  trumpets,  that 
overthrew  the  walls  of  Jericho,  so  that  we  may  blow  down 
these  walls  of  straw  and  paper,  and  that  we  may  set  free  our 


ADDEESS   TO  THE    NOBILITY  21 

Christian  rods,  for  the  chastisement  of  sin,  and  expose  the 
craft  and  deceit  of  the  devil,  so  that  we  may  amend  ourselves 
by  punishment  and  again  obtain  God's  favour. 


The  First  Wall. 

Let  us,  in  the  first  place,  attack  the  first  wall. 

It  has  been  devised,  that  the  Pope,  bishops,  priests  and 
monks  are  called  the  Spiritual  Estate  ;  Princes,  lords,  artificers 
and  peasants,  are  the  Temporal  Estate ;  which  is  a  very  fine, 
hypocritical  device.  But  let  no  one  be  made  afraid  by  it ;  and 
that  for  this  reason  :  That  all  Christians  are  truly  of  the 
Spiritual  Estate,  and  there  is  no  difference  among  them,  save  of 
office  alone.  As  St.  Paul  says  (1  Cor.  xii.),  we  are  all  one 
body,  though  each  member  does  its  own  work,  to  serve  the 
others.  This  is  because  we  have  one  baptism,  one  gospel,  one 
faith,  and  are  all  Christians  alike ;  for  baptism,  gospel  and 
faith,  these  alone  make  Spiritual  and  Christian  people. 

As  for  the  unction  by  a  pope  or  a  bishop,  tonsure,  ordi- 
nation, consecration,  clothes  differing  from  those  of  laymen — 
all  this  may  make  a  hypocrite  or  an  anointed  puppet,  but  never 
a  Christian,  or  a  spiritual  man.  Thus  we  are  all  consecrated 
as  priests  by  baptism,  as  St.  Peter  says :  "Ye  are  a  royal 
priesthood,  a  holy  nation  "  (1  Peter  ii.  9) ;  and  in  the  book  of 
Revelations :  "  and  hast  made  us  unto  our  God,  kings  and 
priests."  (Eev.  v.  10.)  For,  if  we  had  not  a  higher  consecration 
in  us  than  Pope  or  bishop  can  give,  no  priest  could  ever  be 
made  by  the  consecration  of  Pope  or  bishop ;  nor  could  he  say 
the  mass,  or  preach,  or  absolve.  Therefore  the  bishop's  con- 
secration is  just  as  if  in  the  name  of  the  whole  congregation 
he  took  one  person  out  of  the  community,  each  member  of 
which  has  equal  power,  and  commanded  him  to  exercise  this 
power  for  the  rest ;  in  the  same  way  as  if  ten  brothers,  co-heirs 
as  king's  sons,  were  to  choose  one  from  among  them  to  rule 
over  their  inheritance ;  they  would,  all  of  them,  still  remain 
kings  and  have  equal  power,  although  one  is  ordered  to  govern. 

And  to  put  the  matter  even  more  plainly ;  If  a  little 
company  of  pious  Christian  laymen  were  taken  prisoners  and 
carried  away  to  a  desert,  and  had  not  among  them  a  priest 

c  2 


22  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

consecrated  by  a  bishop,  and  were  there  to  agree  to  elect  one 
of  them,  married  or  unmarried,  and  were  to  order  him  to 
baptize,  to  celebrate  the  mass,  to  absolve  and  to  preach ;  this 
man  would  as  truly  be  a  priest,  as  if  all  the  bishops  and  all 
the  Popes  had  consecrated  him.  That  is  why  in  cases  of 
necessity  every  man  can  baptize  and  absolve,  which  would  not 
be  possible  if  we  were  not  all  priests.  This  great  grace 
and  virtue  of  baptism  and  of  the  Christian  Estate,  they  have 
almost  destroyed  and  made  us  forget  by  their  ecclesiastical  law. 
In  this  way  the  Christians  used  to  choose  their  bishops 
and  priests  out  of  the  community  ;  these  being  afterwards 
confirmed  by  other  bishops,  without  the  pomp  that  we  have 
now.  So  was  it  that  St.  Augustine,  Ambrose,^  Cyprian,  were 
bishops. 

Since  then  the  temporal  power  is  baptized  as  we  are,  and 
has  the  same  faith  and  gospel,  we  must  allow  it  to  be  priest 
and  bishop,  and  account  its  office  an  office  that  is  proper  and 
useful  to  the  Christian  community.  For  whatever  issues 
from  baptism,  may  boast  that  it  has  been  consecrated  priest, 
bishop,  and  Pope,  although  it  does  not  beseem  everyone  to 
exercise  these  offices.  For,  since  we  are  all  priests  alike,  no 
man  may  put  himself  forward,  or  take  upon  himself,  without 
our  consent  and  election,  to  do  that  which  we  have  all  alike 
power  to  do.  For,  if  a  thing  is  common  to  all,  no  man  may  take 
it  to  himself  without  the  wish  and  command  of  the  community. 
And  if  it  should  happen  that  a  man  were  appointed  to  one 
of  these  offices  and  deposed  for  abuses,  he  would  be  just 
what  he  was  before.  Therefore  a  priest  should  be  nothing 
in  Christendom  but  a  functionary ;  as  long  as  he  holds  his 
office,  he  has  precedence  of  others ;  if  he  is  deprived  of  it,  he 
is  a  peasant  and  a  citizen  like  the  rest.  Therefore  a  priest 
is  verily  no  longer  a  priest  after  deposition.  But  now  they 
have  invented  characteres  indelebiles,1  and  pretend  that  a  priest 
after  deprivation  still  differs  from  a  simple  layman.  They 
even  imagine  that  a  priest  can  never  be  anything  but  a  priest, 
that  is,  that  he  can  never  become  a  layman.  All  this  is 
nothing  but  mere  talk  and  ordinance  of  human  invention. 

1  In  accordance  with  a  doctrine  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  the  act  of 
ordination  impresses  upon  the  priest  an  indelible  character ;  so  that  he  im- 
mutably retains  the  sacred  dignity  of  priesthood. 


ADDKESS   TO   THE   NOBILITY  23 

It  follows  then,  that  between  layman  and  priests,  princes 
and  bishops,  or  as  they  call  it,  between  spiritual  and  temporal 
persons,  the  only  real  difference  is  one  of  office  and  function, 
and  not  of  estate  :  for  they  are  all  of  the  same  Spiritual 
Estate,  true  priests,  bishops  and  Popes,  though  their  functions 
are  not  the  same :  just  as  among  priests  and  monks  every 
man  has  not  the  same  functions.  And  this  St.  Paul  says 
(Eom.  xii. ;  1  Cor.  xii.)  and  St.  Peter  (1  Peter  ii.)  ;  "  we  being 
many  are  one  body  in  Christ,  and  every  one  members  one  of 
another."  Christ's  body  is  not  double  or  twofold,  one  temporal, 
the  other  spiritual.     He  is  one  head,  and  he  has  one  body. 

We  see  then  that  just  as  those  that  we  call  spiritual,  or 
priests,  bishops  or  popes,  do  not  differ  from  other  Christians  in 
any  other  or  higher  degree,  but  in  that  they  are  to  be  concerned 
with  the  word  of  God,  and  the  sacraments — that  being  their 
work  and  office — in  the  same  way  the  temporal  authorities  hold 
the  sword  and  the  rod  in  their  hands  to  punish  the  wicked  and 
to  protect  the  good.  A  cobbler,  a  smith,  a  peasant,  every  man 
has  the  office  and  function  of  his  calling,  and  yet  all  alike  are 
consecrated  priests  and  bishops,  and  every  man  in  his  office 
must  be  useful  and  beneficial  to  the  rest,  that  so  many  kinds 
of  work  may  all  be  united  into  one  community  :  just  as  the 
members  of  the  body  all  serve  one  another. 

Now  see,  what  a  Christian  doctrine  is  this :  that  the  temporal 
authority  is  not  above  the  clergy,  and  may  not  punish  it.  This 
is,  as  if  one  were  to  say,  the  hand  may  not  help,  though  the  eye 
is  in  grievous  suffering.  Is  it  not  unnatural,  not  to  say  un- 
christian, that  one  member  may  not  help  another,  or  guard  it 
against  harm  ?  Nay,  the  nobler  the  member,  the  more  the  rest 
are  bound  to  help  it.  Therefore  I  say  :  forasmuch  as  the  tem- 
poral power  has  been  ordained  by  God  for  the  punishment 
of  the  bad,  and  the  protection  of  the  good,  therefore  we  must 
let  it  do  its  duty  throughout  the  whole  Christian  body,  with- 
out respect  of  persons :  whether  it  strike  popes,  bishops,  priests, 
monks,  or  nuns.  If  it  were  sufficient  reason  for  fettering  the 
temporal  power  that  it  is  inferior  among  the  offices  of  Christi- 
anity to  the  offices  of  priest  or  confessor,  or  to  the  spiritual 
estate — if  this  were  so,  then  we  ought  to  restrain  tailors, 
cobblers,  masons,  carpenters,  cooks,  servants,  peasants,  and  all 
secular  workmen,  from  providing  the  Pope,  or  bishops,  priests 


24  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

and  monks,  with  shoes,  clothes,  houses  or  victuals,  or  from  paying 
them  tithes.  But  if  these  laymen  are  allowed  to  do  their  work 
without  restraint,  what  do  the  Romanist  scribes  mean  by  their 
laws  ?  They  mean  that  they  withdraw  themselves  from  the 
operation  of  temporal  Christian  power,  simply  in  order  that 
they  may  be  free  to  do  evil,  and  thus  fulfil  what  St.  Peter 
said :  "  There  shall  be  false  teachers  among  you,  .  .  .  and 
through  covetousness  shall  they  with  feigned  words  make 
merchandize  of  you."    (2  Peter  ii.  1,  etc.) 

Therefore  the  temporal  Christian  power  must  exercise  its 
office  without  let  or  hindrance,  without  considering  whom  it 
may  strike,  whether  pope,  or  bishop,  or  priest :  whoever  is  guilty 
let  him  suffer  for  it.  Whatever  the  ecclesiastical  law  says  in 
opposition  to  this,  is  merely  the  invention  of  Romanist  arro- 
gance. For  this  is  what  St.  Paul  says  to  all  Christians  :  "  Let 
every  soul  "  (I  presume  including  the  Popes)  "  be  subject  unto 
the  higher  powers  :  for  he  beareth  not  the  sword  in  vain :  for 
he  is  the  minister  of  God,  a  revenger  to  execute  wrath  upon  him 
that  doeth  evil."  (Rom.  xiii.  1-4.)  Also  St.  Peter :  "  Submit 
yourselves  to  every  ordinance  of  man  for  the  Lord's  sake  .  .  . 
for  so  is  the  will  of  God."  (1  Peter  ii.  13,  15.)  He  has  also 
said,  that  men  would  come,  who  should  despise  government 
(2  Peter  ii.) ;  as  has  come  to  pass  through  ecclesiastical  law. 

Now  I  imagine,  the  first  paper  wall  is  overthrown,  inasmuch 
as  the  temporal  power  has  become  a  member  of  the  Christian 
body,  and  although  its  work  relates  to  the  body,  yet  does  it 
belong  to  the  spiritual  estate.  Therefore  it  must  do  its  duty 
without  let  or  hindrance  upon  all  members  of  the  whole  body, 
to  punish  or  urge,  as  guilt  may  deserve,  or  need  may  require, 
without  respect  of  Pope,  bishops  or  priests ;  let  them  threaten 
or  excommunicate  as  they  will.  That  is  why  a  guilty  priest  is 
deprived  of  his  priesthood  before  being  given  over  to  the 
secular  arm ;  whereas  this  would  not  be  right,  if  the  secular 
sword  had  not  authority  over  him  already  by  divine  ordinance. 

It  is,  indeed,  past  bearing  that  the  spiritual  law  should  esteem 
so  highly  the  liberty,  life  and  property  of  the  clergy,  as  if  laymen 
were  not  as  good  spiritual  Christians,  or  not  equally  members 
of  the  Church.  Why  should  your  body,  life,  goods,  and  honour 
be  free  and  not  mine,  seeing  that  we  are  equal  as  Christians,  and 
have  received  alike  baptism,  faith,  spirit  and  all  things  ?     If  a 


ADDEESS   TO   THE   NOBILITY  25 

priest  is  killed,  the  country  is  laid  under  an  interdict : 1  why 
not  also  if  a  peasant  is  killed  ?  Whence  conies  all  this  differ- 
ence among  equal  Christians  ?  Simply  from  human  laws  and 
inventions. 

It  can  have  heen  no  good  spirit,  that  devised  these  exceptions, 
and  made  sin  to  go  unpunished.  For,  if  as  Christ  and  the 
Apostles  bid  us,  it  is  our  duty  to  oppose  the  evil  one,  and  all 
his  works  and  words,  and  to  drive  him  away  as  well  as  may 
be ;  how  then  should  we  look  on  in  silence,  when  the  Pope  and 
his  followers  are  guilty  of  devilish  works  and  words  ?  Are  we 
for  the  sake  of  men  to  allow  the  commandments  and  the  truth 
of  God  to  be  defeated,  which  at  our  baptism  we  vowed  to 
support  with  body  and  soul  ?  Truly  we  should  have  to  answer 
for  all  souls  that  are  thus  led  away  into  error. 

Therefore  it  must  have  been  the  archdevil  himself  who  said, 
as  we  read  in  the  ecclesiastical  law  :  If  the  Pope  were  so 
perniciously  wicked,  as  to  be  dragging  souls  in  crowds  to  the 
devil,  yet  he  could  not  be  deposed.  This  is  the  accursed  and 
devilish  foundation  on  which  they  build  at  Eome,  and  think 
that  the  whole  world  is  to  be  allowed  to  go  to  the  devil,  rather 
than  they  should  be  opposed  in  their  knavery.  If  a  man  were 
to  escape  punishment  simply  because  he  is  above  the  rest,  then 
no  Christian  might  punish  another,  since  Christ  has  com- 
manded each  of  us  to  esteem  himself  the  lowest  and  the 
humblest.  (Matt,  xviii.  4  ;  Luke  ix.  48.) 

"Where  there  is  sin,  there  remains  no  avoiding  the  punish- 
ment, as  St.  Gregory  says  :  We  are  all  equal,  but  guilt  makes 
one  subject  to  another.  Now  see,  how  they  deal  with  Christ- 
endom, depriving  it  of  its  freedom  without  any  warrant  from 
the  Scriptures,  out  of  their  own  wickedness,  whereas  God  and 
the  Apostles  made  them  subject  to  the  secular  sword  ;  so  that 
we  must  fear,  that  it  is  the  work  of  Antichrist,  or  a  sign  of  his 
near  approach. 

The  Second  Wall 

The  second  wall  is  even  more  tottering  and  weak :  that 
they  alone  pretend  to  be  considered  masters  of  the  Scriptures  ; 

1  By  the  Interdict,  or  general  excommunication,  whole  countries,  districts, 
or  towns,  were  deprived  of  all  the  spiritual  benefits  of  the  Church,  such 
as  divine  service,  the  administering  of  the  sacraments,  etc. 


• 


26  luthek's  primary  works 

although  they  learn  nothing  of  them  all  their  life,  they  assume 
authority,  and  juggle  before  us  with  impudent  words,  saying  that 
the  Pope  cannot  err  in  matters  of  faith,  whether  he  be  evil  or 
good  ;  albeit  they  cannot  prove  it  by  a  single  letter.  That  is 
why  the  canon  law  contains  so  many  heretical  and  unchristian, 
nay,  unnatural  laws ;  but  of  these  we  need  not  speak  now. 
.  For  whereas  they  imagine  the  Holy  G-host  never  leaves  them, 
however  unlearned  and  wicked  they  may  be,  they  grow  bold 
enough  to  decree  whatever  they  like.  But  were  this  true, 
where  were  the  need  and  use  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  ?  Let  us 
burn  them,  and  content  ourselves  with  the  unlearned  gentlemen 
at  Rome,  in  whom  the  Holy  Ghost  dwells,  who  however  can 
dwell  in  pious  souls  only.  If  I  had  not  read  it,  I  could  never 
have  believed,  that  the  Devil  should  have  put  forth  such  follies 
at  Eome  and  find  a  following. 

But  not  to  fight  them  with  our  own  words,  we  will  quote 
the  Scriptures.  St.  Paul  says  :  "  If  anything  be  revealed  to 
another  that  sitteth  by,  let  the  first  hold  his  peace."  (1  Cor. 
xiv.  30.)  What  would  be  the  use  of  this  commandment,  if  we 
were  to  believe  him  alone  that  teaches  or  has  the  highest  seat  ? 
Christ  Himself  says :  "  And  they  shall  be  all  taught  of  God." 
(St.  John  vi.  45.)  Thus  it  may  come  to  pass  that  the  Pope  and 
his  followers  are  wicked  and  not  true  Christians,  and  not  being 
taught  by  God,  have  no  true  understanding,  whereas  a  common 
man  may  have  true  understanding.  Why  should  we  then  not 
follow  him  ?  Has  not  the  Pope  often  erred  ?  Who  could  help 
Christianity,  in  case  the  Pope  errs,  if  we  do  not  rather  believe 
another,  who  has  the  Scriptures  for  him  ? 

Therefore  it  is  a  wickedly  devised  fable,  and  they  cannot 
quote  a  single  letter  to  confirm  it,  that  it  is  for  the  Pope 
alone  to  interpret  the  Scriptures  or  to  confirm  the  interpreta- 
tion of  them :  they  have  assumed  the  authority  of  their  own 
selves.  And  though  they  say,  that  this  authority  was  given 
to  St.  Peter  when  the  keys  were  given  to  him,  it  is  plain 
enough  that  the  keys  were  not  given  to  St.  Peter  alone,  but 
to  the  whole  community.  Besides,  the  keys  were  not  ordained 
for  doctrine  or  authority,  but  for  sin,  to  bind  or  loose;  and 
what  they  claim  besides  this  is  mere  invention.  But  what 
Christ  said  to  St.  Peter :  "  I  have  prayed  for  thee,  that  thy 
faith    fail   not "    (St.    Luke    xxii.    32),    cannot    relate    to   the 


ADDRESS   TO   THE   NOBILITY  27 

Pope,  inasmuch  as  there  have  been  many  Popes  without 
faith,  as  they  are  themselves  forced  to  acknowledge.  Nor  did 
Christ  pray  for  Peter  alone,  hut  for  all  the  Apostles  and  all 
Christians,  as  He  says,  "  Neither  pray  I  for  these  alone,  but  for 
them  also  which  shall  believe  on  me  through  their  word." 
(St.  John  xvii.)     Is  not  this  plain  enough  ? 

Only  consider  the  matter.  They  must  needs  acknowledge 
that  there  are  pious  Christians  among  us,  that  have  the  true 
faith,  spirit,  understanding,  word,  and  mind  of  Christ ;  why  then 
should  we  reject  their  word  and  understanding,  and  follow  a 
Pope  who  has  neither  understanding  nor  Spirit?  Surely  this 
were  to  deny  our  whole  faith  and  the  Christian  Church. 
Moreover,  if  the  article  of  our  faith  is  right :  I  believe  in  the 
Holy  Christian  Church,  the  Pope  cannot  alone  be  right ;  else 
we  must  say  :  I  believe  in  the  Pope  of  Rome,  and  reduce  the 
Christian  Church  to  one  man,  which  is  a  devilish  and  damnable 
heresy.  Besides  that,  we  are  all  priests,  as  I  have  said,  and  have 
r  all  one  faith,  one  gospel,  one  sacrament ;  how  then  should  we 
I  not  have  the  power  of  discerning  and  judging  what  is  right 
or  wrong  in  matters  of  faith  ?  What  becomes  of  St.  Paul's 
words  :  "  But  he  that  is  spiritual  judgeth  all  things,  yet  he 
himself  is  judged  of  no  man  "  (1  Cor.  ii.  15) ;  and  also,  "  we 
having  the  same  spirit  of  faith."  (2  Cor.  iv.  13.)  Why  then 
should  we  not  perceive  as  well  as  an  unbelieving  Pope,  what 
agrees,  or  disagrees  with  our  faith  ? 

By  these  and  many  other  texts  we  should  gain  courage 
and  freedom,  and  should  not  let  the  spirit  of -liberty  (as 
St.  Paulhas  it)  be  frightened  away  by  the  inventions  of  the 
Popes;  we  should  boldly  judge  what  they  do  and  what  they 
leave  undone,  by  our  own  understanding  of  the  Scriptures,  and 
force  them  to  follow  the  better  understanding,  and  not  their 
own.  Did  not  Abraham  in  old  days  have  to  obey  his  Sarah, 
who  was  in  stricter  bondage  to  him  than  we  are  to  any  one 
on  earth  ?  Thus  too  Balaam's  ass  was  wiser  than  the  prophet. 
If  God  spoke  by  an  ass  against  a  prophet,  why  should  He  not 
speak  by  a  pious  man  against  the  Pope  ?  Besides,  St.  Paul 
withstood  St.  Peter  as  being  in  error.  (Gal.  ii.)  Therefore 
it  behoves  every  Christian  to  aid  the  faith  by  understanding 
and  defending  it,  and  by  condemning  all  errors. 


28  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY    WORKS 


The  Third  Wall. 

The  third  wall  falls  of  itself,  as  soon  as  the  first  two  have 
fallen ;  for  if  the  Pope  acts  contrary  to  the  Scriptures,  we 
are  bound  to  stand  by  the  Scriptures,  to  punish  and  to  con- 
strain him,  according  to  Christ's  commandment ;  "  Moreover 
if  thy  brother  shall  trespass  against  thee,  go  and  tell  him 
his  fault  between  thee  and  him  alone :  if  he  shall  hear  thee, 
thou  hast  gained  thy  brother.  But  if  he  will  not  hear  thee, 
then  take  with  thee  one  or  two  more,  that  in  the  mouth  of  two 
or  three  witnesses  every  word  may  be  established.  And  if  he 
shall  neglect  to  hear  them,  tell  it  unto  the  church  :  but  if  he 
neglect  to  hear  the  church,  let  him  be  unto  thee  as  an  heathen 
man  and  a  publican."  (St.  Matt,  xviii.  15-17.)  Here  each 
member  is  commanded  to  take  care  for  the  other ;  much  more 
then  should  we  do  this,  if  it  is  a  ruling  member  of  the  com- 
munity that  does  evil,  which  by  its  evil  doing,  causes  great 
harm  and  offence  to  the  others.  If  then  I  am  to  accuse  him 
before  the  church,  I  must  collect  the  church  together.  More- 
over they  can  show  nothing  in  the  Scriptures  giving  the  Pope 
sole  power  to  call  and  confirm  councils ;  they  have  nothing  but 
their  own  laws ;  but  these  hold  good  only  so  long  as  they  are 
not  injurious  to  Christianity  and  the  laws  of  God.  Therefore, 
if  the  Pope  deserves  punishment,  these  laws  cease  to  bind  us, 
since  Christendom  would  suffer,  if  he  were  not  punished  by  a 
council.  Thus  we  read  (Acts  xv.),  that  the  council  of  the 
Apostles  was  not  called  by  St.  Peter,  but  by  all  the  Apostles  and 
the  elders.  But  if  the  right  to  call  it  had  lain  with  St.  Peter 
alone,  it  would  not  have  been  a  Christian  council,  but  a 
heretical  concilidbulum.  Moreover  the  most  celebrated  Nicene 
Council  was  neither  called  nor  confirmed  by  the  Bishop  of 
Borne,  but  by  the  Emperor  Constantine ;  and  after  him 
many  other  Emperors  have  done  the  same,  and  yet  the 
councils  called  by  them  were  accounted  most  Christian. 
But  if  the  Pope  alone  had  the  power,  they  must  all  have 
been  heretical.  Moreover  if  I  consider  the  councils  that  the 
Pope  has  called,  I  do  not  find  that  they  produced  any  notable 
results. 

Therefore  when  need  requires  and  the  Pope  is  a  cause  of 


ADDRESS   TO   THE  NOBILITY  29 

offence  to  Christendom,  in  these  cases  whoever  can  best  do  so, 
as  a  faithful  member  of  the  whole  body,  must  do  what  he  can 
to  procure  a  true  free  council.  This  no  one  can  do  so  well  as 
the  temporal  authorities,  especially  since  they  are  fellow - 
Christians,  fellow-priests,  sharing  one  spirit,  and  one  power 
in  all  things ;  and  since  they  should  exercise  the  office  that 
they  have  received  from  God  without  hindrance,  whenever 
it  is  necessary  and  useful  that  it  should  be  exercised.  Would 
it  not  be  most  unnatural,  if  a  fire  were  to  break  out  in  a 
city,  and  everyone  were  to  keep  still  and  let  it  burn  on  and 
on,  whatever  might  be  burnt,  simply  because  they  had  not 
the  mayor's  authority,  or  because  the  fire  perhaps  broke 
out  at  the  mayor's  house  ?  Is  not  every  citizen  bound  in 
this  case  to  rouse  and  call  in  the  rest  ?  How  much  more 
should  this  be  done  in  the  spiritual  city  of  Christ,  if  a  fire 
of  offence  breaks  out,  either  at  the  Pope's  government  or 
wherever  it  may  !  The  like  happens  if  an  enemy  attacks  a 
town.  The  first  to  rouse  up  the  rest  earns  glory  and 
thanks.  Why  then  should  not  he  earn  glory  that  announces 
the  coming  of  our  enemies  from  hell,  and  rouses  and  summons 
all  Christians  ? 

But  as  for  their  boasts  of  their  authority,  that  no  one  must 
oppose  it,  this  is  idle  talk.  No  one  in  Christendom  has  any 
authority  to  do  harm,  or  to  forbid  others  to  prevent  harm  being 
done.  There  is  no  authority  in  the  Church  but  for  reformation. 
Therefore  if  the  Pope  wished  to  use  his  power  to  prevent  the 
calling  of  a  free  council,  so  as  to  prevent  the  reformation  of  the 
Church,  we  must  uot  respect  him  or  his  power ;  and  if  he  should 
begin  to  excommunicate  and  fulminate,  we  must  despise  this  as 
the  ravings  of  a  madman,  and  trusting  in  God,  excommunicate 
and  repel  him,  as  best  we  may.  For  this  his  usurped  power  is 
nothing ;  he  does  not  possess  it,  and  he  is  at  once  overthrown 
by  a  text  from  the  Scriptures.  For  St.  Paul  says  to  the 
Corinthians,  "  That  God  has  given  us  authority  for  edification 
and  not  for  destruction."  (2  Cor.  x.  8.)  Who  will  set  this 
text  at  naught  ?  It  is  the  power  of  the  Devil  and  of  Anti- 
christ that  prevents  what  would  serve  for  the  reformation  of 
Christendom.  Therefore  we  must  not  follow  it,  but  oppose 
it  with  our  body,  our  goods  and  all  that  we  have.  And  even  if 
a  miracle   were   to   happen   in  favour   of   the    Pope,    against 


30  luthek's  primary  works 

the  temporal  power,  or  if  some  were  to  be  stricken  by  a 
plague,  as  they  sometimes  boast  has  happened :  all  this  is  to 
be  held  as  having  been  done  by  the  Devil,  for  our  want 
of  faith  in  God,  as  was  foretold  by  Christ :  "  There  shall 
arise  false  Christs,  and  false  prophets,  and  shall  shew  great 
signs  and  wonders;  insomuch  that,  if  it  were  possible,  they 
shall  deceive  the  very  elect  "  (Matt.  xxiv.  23)  ;  and  St.  Paul 
tells  the  Thessalonians  that  the  coming  of  Antichrist  shall  be 
"  after  the  working  of  Satan  with  all  power  and  signs  and  lying 
wonders."  (2  Thess.  ii.  9.) 

Therefore  let  us  hold  fast  to  this  :  that  Christian  power  can 
do  nothing  against  Christ,  as  St.  Paul  says :  "  for  we  can  do 
nothing  against  Christ,  but  for  Christ."  (2  Cor.  xiii.  8.)  But, 
if  it  does  anything  against  Christ,  it  is  the  power  of  Anti- 
christ and  the  Devil,  even  if  it  rained  and  hailed  wonders 
and  plagues.  Wonders  and  plagues  prove  nothing,  especially  in 
these  latter  evil  days,  of  which  false  wonders  are  foretold  in  all 
the  Scriptures.  Therefore  we  must  hold  fast  to  the  words  of 
God  with  an  assured  faith ;  then  the  Devil  will  soon  cease  his 
wonders. 

And  now  I  hope  we  have  laid  the  false,  lying  spectre  with 
which  the  Komanists  have  long  terrified  and  stupefied  our  con- 
sciences. And  we  have  shown  that,  like  all  the  rest  of  us,  they 
are  subject  to  the  temporal  sword  ;  that  they  have  no  authority 
to  interpret  the  Scriptures  by  force  without  skill ;  and  that  they 
have  no  power  to  prevent  a  council,  or  to  pledge  it  in  accordance 
with  their  pleasure,  or  to  bind  it  beforehand,  and  deprive  it  of 
its  freedom ;  and  that  if  they  do  this,  they  are  verily  of  the 
fellowship  of  Antichrist  and  the  Devil,  and  have  nothing  of 
Christ  but  the  name. 


ADDRESS   TO   THE   NOBILITY  31 

II. 

Of  the  Matteks  to  be  Consideked  in  the  Councils. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  matters  which  should  be  treated  in 
the  councils,  and  with  which  popes,  cardinals,  bishops,  and  all 
learned  men  should  occupy  themselves  day  and  night,  if  they 
loved  Christ  and  His  Church.  But  if  they  do  not  do  so,  the 
people  at  large  and  the  temporal  powers  must  do  so,  without 
considering  the  thunders  of  their  excommunications.  For  an 
unjust  excommunication  is  better  than  ten  just  absolutions,  and 
an  unjust  absolution  is  worse  than  ten  just  excommunications. 
Therefore  let  us  rouse  ourselves,  fellow-Germans,  and  fear  (rod 
more  than  man,  that  we  be  not  answerable  for  all  the  poor  souls 
that  are  so  miserably  lost  through  the  wicked,  devilish  govern- 
ment of  the  Komanists,  through  which  also  the  dominion  of  the 
Devil  grows  day  by  day  ;  if  indeed  this  hellish  government  can 
grow  any  worse,  which  for  my  part  I  can  neither  conceive  nor 
believe. 

1.  It  is  a  distressing  and  terrible  thing  to  see  that  the 
head  of  Christendom,  who  boasts  of  being  the  Vicar  of 
Christ  and  the  successor  of  St.  Peter,  lives  in  a  worldly  pomp 
that  no  king  or  emperor  can  equal :  so  that  in  him  that  calls 
himself  most  holy  and  most  spiritual,  there  is  more  worldliness 
than  in  the  world  itself.  He  wears  a  triple  crown,  whereas 
the  mightiest  kings  only  wear  one  crown.  If  this  resembles  the 
poverty  of  Christ  and  St.  Peter,  it  is  a  new  sort  of  resemblance. 
They  prate  of  its  being  heretical  to  object  to  this ;  nay,  they 
will  not  even  hear  how  unchristian  and  ungodly  it  is.  But  I 
think  that  if  he  should  have  to  pray  to  (rod  with  tears,  he 
would  have  to  lay  down  his  crowns ;  for  God  will  not  endure 
any  arrogance.  His  office  should  be  nothing  else  than  to  weep 
and  pray  constantly  for  Christendom,  and  to  be  an  example  of 
all  humility. 

However  this  may  be,  this  pomp  is  a  stumbling-block,  and 
the  Pope,  for  the  very  salvation  of  his  soul,  ought  to  put  it  off; 
for  St.  Paul  says :  "  Abstain  from  all  appearance  of  evil " 
(1  Thess.  v.  21);  and  again:    "Provide  things  honest  in  the 


32  luther's  primary  works 

sight  of  all  men."  (2  Cor.  vjii.  21.)  A  simple  mitre  would  be 
enough  for  the  Pope :  wisdom  and  sanctity  should  raise  him 
above  the  rest ;  the  crown  of  pride  he  should  leave  to  Anti- 
christ, as  his  predecessors  did  for  some  hundreds  of  years. 
They  say :  He  is  the  ruler  of  the  world.  This  is  false ;  for 
Christ,  whose  vice-gerent  and  vicar  he  claims  to  be,  said  to 
Pilate  :  "  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world."  (John  xviii.  36.) 
But  no  vice-gerent  can  have  a  wider  dominion  than  his  Lord. 
Nor  is  he  a  vice-gerent  of  Christ  in  His  glory,  but  of  Christ 
crucified,  as  St.  Paul  says :  "  For  1  determined  not  to  know 
anything  among  you,  save  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified " 
(2  Cor.  ii.  2) ;  and  (Phil.  ii.  7)  :  "  Let  this  mind  be  in  you, 
which  was  also  in  Christ  Jesus ;  who  made  himself  of  no 
reputation,  and  took  upon  himself  the  form  of  a  servant." 
(Phil.  ii.  5,  7.)  Again  (1  Cor.  i.) :  "  We  preach  Christ  cruci- 
fied." Now  they  make  the  Pope  a  vice-gerent  of  Christ 
exalted  in  heaven,  and  some  have  let  the  Devil  rule  them  so 
thoroughly,  that  they  have  maintained  that  the  Pope  is  above 
the  angels  in  heaven,  and  has  power  over  them ;  which  is 
precisely  the  true  work  of  the  true  Antichrist. 

2.  What  is  the  use  in  Christendom  of  the  people  called 
"  Cardinals  "  ?  I  will  tell  you.  In  Italy  and  Germany  there  are 
many  rich  convents,  endowments,  fiefs  and  benefices,  and  as 
the  best  way  of  getting  these  into  the  hands  of  Eome,  they 
created  cardinals,  and  gave  them  the  sees,  convents,  and 
prelacies,  and  thus  destroyed  the  service  of  God.  That  is  why 
Italy  is  almost  a  desert  now :  the  convents  are  destroyed,  the 
sees  consumed,  the  revenues  of  the  prelacies  and  of  all  the 
churches  drawn  to  Eome  ;  towns  are  decayed ;  the  country  and 
the  people  ruined,  while  there  is  no  more  any  worship  of  God 
or  preaching ;  why  ?  Because  the  cardinals  must  have  all 
the  wealth.  No  Turk  could  have  thus  desolated  Italy  and 
overthrown  the  worship  of  God. 

Now  that  Italy  is  sucked  dry,  they  come  to  Germany  and 
begin  very  quietly ;  but  we  shall  see,  that  Germany  is  soon  to 
be  brought  into  the  same  state  as  Italy.  We  have  a  few 
cardinals  already.  What  the  Eonianists  mean  thereby  the 
drunken  Germans  1  are  not  to  see  until  they  have  lost  every- 

1  The  epithet  "  drunken  "  was  formerly  often  applied  by  the  Italians  to  the 
Germans. 


ADDRESS   TO   THE    NOBILITY  33 

thing— bishoprics,  convents,  benefices,  fiefs,  even  to  their  last 
farthing.  Antichrist  must  take  the  riches  of  the  earth,  as  it 
is  written.  (Dan.  xi.  8,  39,  43.)  They  begin  by  taking  off  the 
cream  of  the  bishoprics,  convents,  and  fiefs ;  and  as  they  do 
not  dare  to  destroy  everything  as  they  have  done  in  Italy, 
they  employ  such  holy  cunning  to  join  together  ten  or  twenty 
prelacies,  and  take  such  a  portion  of  each,  annually,  that  the 
total  amounts  to  a  considerable  sum.  The  priory  of  Wiirzburg 
gives  one  thousand  guilders,  those  of  Bamberg,  Mayence,  Treves 
and  others  also  contribute.  In  this  way  they  collect  one 
thousand  or  ten  thousand  guilders,  in  order  that  a  cardinal 
may  live  at  Kome  in  a  state  like  that  of  a  wealthy  monarch. 

After  we  have  gained  this,  we  will  create  thirty  or  forty 
cardinals  on  one  day,  and  give  one  St.  Michael's  Mount,1  near 
Bamberg,  and  likewise  the  see  of  Wiirzburg,  to  which  belong 
some  rich  benefices,  until  the  churches  and  the  cities  are 
desolated  ;  and  then  we  shall  say  :  We  are  the  vicars  of  Christ, 
the  shepherds  of  Christ's  flocks ;  those  mad,  drunken  Germans 
must  submit  to  it.  I  advise,  however,  that  there  be  made  fewer 
cardinals,  or  that  the  Pope  should  have  to  support  them  out 
of  his  own  purse.  It  would  be  amply  sufficient,  if  there  were 
twelve,  and  if  each  of  them  had  an  annual  income  of  one 
thousand  guilders.  What  has  brought  us  Germans  to  such  a 
pass,  tnat  we  have  to  suffer  this  robbery  and  this  destruction 
of  our  property  by  the  Pope?  If  the  kingdom  of  France 
has  resisted  it,  why  do  we  Germans  suffer  ourselves  to  be 
fooled  and  deceived  ?  It  would  be  more  endurable,  if  they  did 
nothing  but  rob  us  of  our  property ;  but  they  destroy  the 
church  and  deprive  Christ's  flock  of  their  good  shepherds,  and 
overthrow  the  service  and  word  of  God.  Even  if  there  were 
no  cardinals  at  all,  the  Church  would  not  perish ;  for  they 
do  nothing  for  the  good  of  Christendom ;  all  they  do  is  to 
bargain  and  traffic  in  prelacies  and  bishoprics ;  which  any 
robber  could  do  as  well. 

3.  If  we  took  away  ninety-nine  parts  of  the  Pope's  court 
and  only  left  one  hundredth,  it  would  still  be  large  enough 
to  answer  questions  on  matters  of  belief.  Now  there  is  such 
a  swarm  of  vermin  at  Kome,  all  called  Papal,  that  Babylon 

1  Luther  alludes  here  to  the  Benedictine  convent  standing  on  the  Monch- 
bery,  or  St.  Michael's  Mount. 


V 


34  luther's  primary  works 

itself  never  saw  the  like.  There  are  more  than  three  thousand 
Papal  secretaries  alone ;  but  who  shall  count  the  other  office- 
bearers, since  there  are  so  many  offices  that  we  can  scarcely 
count  them,  and  all  waiting  for  German  benefices,  as  wolves 
wait  for  a  flock  of  sheep  ?  I  think  Germany  now  pays  more 
to  the  Pope,  than  it  formerly  paid  the  Emperors  ;  nay,  some 
think  more  than  three  hundred  thousand  guilders  are  sent 
from  Germany  to  Kome  every  year,  for  nothing  whatever ;  and 
in  return  we  are  scoffed  at  and  put  to  shame.  Do  we  still 
wonder  why  princes,  noblemen,  cities,  foundations,  convents 
and  people  are  poor  ?  We  should  rather  wonder  that  we  have 
anything  left  to  eat. 

Now  that  we  have  got  well  into  our  game,  let  us  pause 
awhile  and  show  that  the  Germans  are  not  such  fools,  as  not 
to  perceive  or  understand  this  Komish  trickery.  I  do  not  here 
complain,  that  God's  commandments  and  Christian  justice  are 
despised  at  Eome ;  for  the  state  of  things  in  Christendom, 
especially  at  Rome,  is  too  bad  for  us  to  complain  of  such  high 
matters.  Nor  do  I  even  complain  that  no  account  is  taken 
of  natural  or  secular  justice  and  reason.  The  mischief  lies 
still  deeper.  I  complain  that  they  do  not  observe  their  own 
fabricated  canon  law,  though  this  is  in  itself  rather  mere 
tyranny,  avarice  and  worldly  pomp,  than  a  law.  This  we 
shall  now  show. 

Long  ago  the  Emperors  and  Princes  of  Germany  allowed  the 
Pope  to  claim  the  annates  1  from  all  German  benefices ;  that  is, 
half  of  the  first  year's  income  from  every  benefice.  The  object 
at  this  concession  was  that  the  Pope  should  collect  a  fund  with 
all  this  money,  to  fight  against  the  Turks  and  infidels,  and  to 
protect  Christendom,  so  that  the  nobility  should  not  have 
to  bear  the  burden  of  the  struggle  alone,  and  that  the  priests 
should  also  contribute.  The  Popes  have  made  such  use  of 
this  good  simple  piety  of  the  Germans,  that  they  have  taken 
this  money  for  more  than  one  hundred  years,  and  have  now 
made  of  it  a  regular  tax  and  duty ;  and  not  only  have  they 
accumulated  nothing,  but  they  have  founded  out  of  it  many 
posts  and  offices  at  Home,  which  are  paid  by  it  yearly,  as  out 
of  a  settled  rent. 

1  The  duty  of  paying  annates  to  the  Pope  was  established  by  John  XXII. 
in  1318. 


ADDRESS   TO   THE   NOBILITY  35 

Whenever  there  is  any  pretence  of  fighting  the  Turks,  they 
send  out  some  commission  for  collecting  money,  and  often  send 
out  indulgences  under  the  same  pretext  of  fighting  the  Turks. 
They  think  we  Germans  will  always  remain  such  great  and  in- 
veterate fools,  that  we  will  go  on  giving  money  to  satisfy  their 
unspeakable  greed,  though  we  see  plainly  that  neither  annates 
nor  absolution  money,  nor  any  other — not  one  farthing — goes 
against  the  Turks,  but  all  goes  into  the  bottomless  sack.  They 
lie  and  deceive,  form  and  make  covenants  with  us  of  which 
they  do  not  mean  to  keep  one  jot.  And  all  this  is  done  in 
the  holy  name  of  Christ  and  St.  Peter. 

This  being  so,  the  German  nation,  the  bishops  and  princes, 
should  remember  that  they  are  Christians,  and  should  defend 
the  people,  who  are  committed  to  their  government  and  pro- 
tection in  temporal  and  spiritual  affairs,  from  these  ravenous 
wolves  in  sheep's  clothing,  that  profess  to  be  shepherds  and 
rulers ;  and  since  the  annates  are  so  shamefully  abused,  and  the 
covenants  concerning  them  not  carried  out,  they  should  not 
suffer  their  lands  and  people  to  be  so  piteously  and  unrighteously 
flayed  and  ruined ;  but  by  an  imperial  or  a  national  law  they 
should  either  retain  the  annates  in  the  country,  or  abolish 
them  altogether.  For  since  they  do  not  keep  to  the  cove- 
nants, they  have  no  right  to  the  annates;  therefore  bishops 
and  princes  are  bound  to  punish  this  thievery  and  robbery,  or 
prevent  it,  as  justice  demands.  And  herein  should  we  assist  and 
strengthen  the  Pope,  who  is  perchance  too  weak  to  prevent  this 
scandal  by  himself;  or,  if  he  wishes  to  protect  or  support 
it,  restrain  and  oppose  him  as  a  wolf  and  tyrant ;  for  he  has  no 
authority  to  do  evil  or  to  protect  evil-doers.  Even  if  it  were 
proposed  to  collect  any  such  treasure  for  use  against  the 
Turks,  we  should  be  wise  in  future,  and  remember  that  the 
German  nation  is  more  fitted  to  take  charge  of  it  than  the 
Pope,  seeing  that  the  German  nation  by  itself  is  able  to 
provide  men  enough,  if  the  money  is  forthcoming.  This  matter 
of  the  annates  is  like  many  other  Romish  pretexts. 

Moreover  the  year  has  been  divided  among  the  Pope  and 
the  ruling  bishops  and  foundations,  in  such  wise,  that  the  Pope 
has  taken  every  other  month — six  in  all — to  give  away  the 
benefices  that  fall  in  his  month ;  in  this  way  almost  all  the 
benefices  are  drawn  into  the  hands  of  Rome,  and  especially 

D 


36  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

the  best  livings  and  dignities.  And  those  that  once  fall  into 
the  hands  of  Koine  never  come  out  again,  even  if  they  never 
again  fall  vacant  in  the  Pope's  month.  In  this  way  the  founda- 
tions come  very  short  of  their  rights,  and  it  is  a  downright 
robbery,  by  which  it  is  intended  that  nothing  of  them  should  be 
left.  Therefore  it  is  now  high  time  to  abolish  the  Pope's 
months  and  to  take  back  again  all  that  has  thereby  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  Home.  For  all  the  princes  and  nobles  should 
insist,  that  the  stolen  property  shall  be  returned,  the  thieves 
punished,  and  that  those  who  abuse  their  powers  shall  be 
deprived  of  them.  If  the  Pope  can  make  a  law  on  the  day  after 
his  election,  by  which  he  takes  our  benefices  and  livings  to 
which  he  has  no  right ;  the  Emperor  Charles  should  so  much 
the  more  have  a  right  to  issue  a  law  for  all  Germany  on  the 
day  after  his  coronation,1  that  in  future  no  livings  and  benefices 
are  to  fall  to  Eome  by  virtue  of  the  Pope's  month,  but  that 
those  that  have  so  fallen  are  to  be  freed  and  taken  from  the 
Romish  robbers.  This  right  he  possesses  by  his  office  in 
virtue  of  his  temporal  sword. 

But  the  see  of  avarice  and  robbery  at  Eome  is  unwilling  to 
wait  for  the  benefices  to  fall  in  one  after  another  by  means  of 
the  Pope's  month ;  and  in  order  to  get  them  into  its  insatiable 
maw,  as  speedily  as  possible,  they  have  devised  the  plan  of  taking 
livings  and  benefices  in  three  other  ways  : 

First,  if  the  incumbent  of  a  free  living  dies  at  Eome  or  on 
his  way  thither,  his  living  remains  for  ever  the  property  of  the 
see  of  Eome,  or  I  rather  should  say,  the  see  of  robbers,  though 
they  will  not  let  us  call  them  robbers,  although  no  one  has  ever 
seen  or  read  of  such  robbery. 

Secondly,  if  a  servant  of  the  Pope,  or  of  one  of  the  cardinals, 
takes  a  living,  or  if  having  a  living  he  becomes  a  servant  of 
the  Pope  or  of  a  cardinal,  the  living  remains  with  Eome.  But 
who  can  count  the  servants  of  the  Pope  and  his  cardinals,  seeing 
that  if  he  goes  out  riding,  he  is  attended  by  three  or  four 
thousand  mule-riders ;  more  than  any  king  or  emperor.  For 
Christ  and  St.  Peter  went  on  foot;  in  order  that  their  vice- 
gerents might  indulge  the  better  in  all  manner  of  pomp. 
Besides,  their  avarice  has  devised  and  invented  this,  that  in 

1  At  the  time  when  the  above  was  written — June  1520 — the  Emperor 
Charles  had  been  elected,  but  not  yet  crowned. 


ADDRESS   TO   THE   NOBILITY  37 

foreign  countries  also  there  are  many  called  papal  servants,  as  at 
Rome  :  so  that  in  all  parts  this  single  crafty  little  word  "  papal 
servant "  brings  all  benefices  to  the  Chair  of  Eome  and  they 
are  kept  there  for  ever.  Are  not  these  mischievous,  devilish 
devices  ?  Let  us  only  wait  awhile.  Mayence,  Magdeburg,  and 
Halberstadt  will  fall  very  nicely  to  Eome,  and  we  shall  have 
to  pay  dearly  for  our  cardinal.1  Hereafter,  all  the  German 
bishops  will  be  made  cardinals,  so  that  there  shall  remain 
nothing  to  ourselves. 

Thirdly,  whenever  there  is  any  dispute  about  a  benefice ;  and 
this  is,  I  think,  well-nigh  the  broadest  and  commonest  road  by 
which  benefices  are  brought  to  Eome.  For  where  there  is  no 
dispute  numberless  knaves  can  be  found  at  Eome,  who  are  ready 
to  scrape  up  disputes,  and  attack  livings  wherever  they  like.  In 
this  way  many  a  good  priest  loses  his  living,  or  has  to  buy  off 
the  dispute  for  a  time  with  a  sum  of  money.  These  benefices, 
confiscated  by  right  or  wrong  of  dispute,  are  to  be  for  ever  the 
property  of  the  see  of  Eome.  It  would  be  no  wonder,  if  (rod 
were  to  rain  sulphur  and  fire  from  heaven  and  cast  Eome  down 
into  the  pit,  as  he  did  formerly  to  Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  What 
is  the  use  of  a  Pope  in  Christendom,  if  the  only  use  made  of  his  \ 
power  is  to  commit  these  supreme  villainies  under  his  protection 
and  assistance  ?  0  noble  princes  and  sirs,  how  long  will  you 
suffer  your  lands  and  your  people  to  be  the  prey  of  these 
ravening  wolves  ? 

But  these  tricks  did  not  suffice,  and  Bishoprics  were  too 
slow  in  falling  into  the  power  of  Eoman  avarice.  Accordingly 
our  good  friend  Avarice  made  the  discovery  that  all  Bishoprics 
are  abroad  in  name  only ;  but  that  their  land  and  soil  is  at 
Eome  ;  from  this  it  follows,  that  no  bishop  may  be  confirmed 
until  he  has  bought  the  "  Pall  " 2  for  a  large  sum,  and  has 

1  Luther  alludes  here  to  the  Archbishop  Albert  of  Mayence,  who  was, 
besides,  Archbishop  of  Magdeburg,  and  administrator  of  the  bishopric  of 
Halberstadt.  In  order  to  be  able  to  defray  the  expense  of  the  Archiepiscopal 
tax  due  to  Rome,  amounting  to  30,000  guilders,  he  had  farmed  the  sale  of 
the  Pope's  indulgences — employing  the  notorious  Tetzel  as  his  agent,  and 
sharing  the  profits  with  the  Pope.  In  1518  Albert  was  appointed  Cardinal. 
See  Ranke :    Deutsche  Geschichte,  &c. ;  vol.  i.  p.  309,  &c. 

2  The  Pallium  was  since  the  fourth  century  the  symbol  of  archiepiscopal 
power,  and  had  to  be  redeemed  from  the  Pope  by  means  of  a  large  sum  of 
money  and  a  solemn  oath  of  obedience. 

D    2 


38  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY    WORKS 

with  a  terrible  oath  bound  himself  a  servant  of  the  Pope. 
That  is  why  no  bishop  dare  oppose  the  Pope.  This  was  the 
object  of  the  oath,  and  this  is  how  the  wealthiest  bishoprics 
have  come  to  debt  and  ruin.  Mayence,  I  am  told,  pays  20,000 
guilders.  These  are  true  Koman  tricks,  it  seems  to  me.  It 
is  true  that  they  once  decreed  in  the  canon  law,  that  the 
Pall  should  be  given  free,  the  number  of  the  Pope's  servants 
diminished,  disputes  made  less  frequent,  that  foundations  and 
bishops  should  enjoy  their  liberty ;  but  all  this  brought  them 
no  money.  They  have,  therefore,  reversed  all  this  :  bishops  and 
foundations  have  lost  all  their  power ;  they  are  mere  cyphers, 
without  office,  authority  or  function ;  all  things  are  regulated  by 
the  chief  knaves  at  Eome ;  even  the  offices  of  sextons  and 
bell-ringers  in  all  churches.  All  disputes  are  transferred 
to  Kome ;  each  one  does  what  he  will,  strong  in  the  Pope's 
protection. 

What  has  happened  in  this  very  year?  The  bishop  of 
Strasburg,  wishing  to  regulate  his  see  in  a  proper  way  and 
reform  it  in  the  matter  of  divine  service,  published  some  divine 
and  Christian  ordinances  for  that  purpose.  But  our  worthy 
Pope  and  the  holy  Chair  at  Kome  overturns  altogether  this  holy 
and  spiritual  order  on  the  accusation  of  the  priests.  This  is 
what  they  call  being  the  shepherd  of  Christ's  sheep — supporting 
priests  against  their  own  bishops,  and  protecting  their  disobe- 
dience by  divine  decrees.  Antichrist,  I  hope,  will  not  insult 
God  in  this  open  way.  There  you  have  the  Pope,  as  you  have 
chosen  to  have  him,  and  why  ?  Why,  because  if  the  Church 
were  to  be  reformed,  many  things  would  have  to  be  destroyed, 
and  possibly  Rome  among  them.  Therefore  it  is  better  to  pre- 
vent priests  from  being  at  one  with  each  other ;  they  should 
rather,  as  they  have  done  hitherto,  sow  discord  among  kings 
and  princes,  flood  the  world  with  Christian  blood,  lest  Christian 
unity  should  trouble  the  holy  Roman  See  with  reforms. 

So  far  we  have  seen  what  they  do  with  the  livings  that  fall 
vacant.  Now  there  are  not  enough  vacancies  for  this  delicate 
greed ;  therefore  it  has  also  taken  prudent  account  of  the 
benefices  that  are  still  held  by  their  incumbents,  so  that  they 
may  become  vacant,  though  they  are  in  fact  not  vacant,  and 
this  they  effect  in  many  ways  : 

First,  they  lie  in   wait  for   fat  livings    or  sees    which  are 


ADDRESS   TO   THE   NOBILITY  39 

held  by  an  old  or  sick  man,  or  even  by  one  afflicted  by  an 
imaginary  incompetence  ;  him  the  Roman  See  gives  a  coadjutor, 
that  is  an  assistant  without  his  asking  or  wishing  it,  Tor  the 
benefit  of  the  coadjutor,  because  he  is  a  papal  servant,  or  pays 
for  the  office,  or  has  otherwise  earned  it  by  some  menial  service 
rendered  to  Eome.  Thus  there  is  an  end  of  free  election  on 
the  part  of  the  chapter,  or  of  the  right  of  him  that  presents 
the  living  ;  and  all  goes  to  Eome. 

Secondly,  there  is  a  little  word :  commendam, .  that  is,  when 
the  Pope  gives  a  rich  and  fat  convent  or  church  into  the 
charge  of  a  cardinal  or  any  other  of  his  servants,  just  as  I 
might  command  you  to  take  charge  of  one  hundred  guilders 
for  me.  In  this  way  the  convent  is  neither  given,  nor  lent, 
nor  destroyed,  nor  is  its  divine  service  abolished ;  but  only 
entrusted  to  a  man's  charge :  not,  however,  for  him  to  protect 
and  improve  it,  but  to  drive  out  the  one  he  finds  there ;  to 
take  the  property  and  revenue,  and  to  instal  some  apostate  x 
runaway  monk,  who  is  paid  five  or  six  guilders  a  year,  and  sits 
in  the  church  all  day  and  sells  symbols  and  pictures  to  the  pil- 
grims ;  so  that  neither  chanting  nor  reading  in  the  church  goes 
on  there  any  more.  Now  if  we  were  to  call  this  the  destruction 
of  convents  and  abolition  of  divine  service,  we  should  be  accus- 
ing the  Pope  of  destroying  Christianity  and  abolishing  divine 
service — for  truly  he  is  doing  this  effectually— but  this  would 
be  thought  harsh  language  at  Eome,  therefore  it  is  called  a 
commendam,  or  an  order  to  take  charge  of  the  convent.  In 
this  way  the  Pope  can  make  commendams  of  four  or  more 
convents  a  year,  any  one  of  which  produces  a  revenue  of  more 
than  six  thousand  guilders.  This  is  the  way  divine  service  is 
advanced  and  convents  kept  up  at  Eome.  This  will  be  intro- 
duced into  Germany  as  well. 

Thirdly,  there  are  certain  benefices  that  are  said  to  be 
incompatible,  that  is,  they  may  not  be  held  together  according 
to  the  canon  law ;  such  as  two  cures,  two  sees  and  the  like. 
Now  the  Holy  See  and  avarice  twists  itself  out  of  the  canon 
law  by  making  "  glosses,"  or  interpretations,  called  JJnio, 
or  Incorporatio,  that  is,  several  incompatible  benefices  are 
incorporated,  so  that  one  is  a  member  of  the  other,  and  the 

1  Monks  who  forsook  their  order  without  any  legal  dispensation  were 
called  "  apostates." 


40  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 


er 


whole  is  held  to  be  one  benefice ;  then  they  are  no  longer 
incompatible,  and  we  have  got  rid  of  the  holy  canon  law,  so 
that  it  is  no  longer  binding,  except  on  those,  who  do  not  buy 
those  glosses  of  the  Pope,  and  his  Datarius}  Unio  is  of  the 
same  kind :  a  number  of  benefices  are  tied  together  like  a 
bundle  of  faggots,  and  on  account  of  this  coupling  together, 
they  are  held  to  be  one  benefice.  Thus  there  may  be  found 
many  a  courtling  at  Kome  who  alone  holds  twenty-two  cures, 
seven  priories,  and  forty-four  prebends;  all  which  is  done  in 
virtue  of  this  masterly  gloss,  so  as  not  to  be  contrary  to  law. 
Any  one  can  imagine  what  cardinals  and  other  prelates  may 
hold.  In  this  way  the  Germans  are  to  have  their  purses 
emptied  and  be  deprived  of  all  comfort. 

There  is  another  gloss  called  Administrate,  that  is,  that 
besides  his  see  a  man  holds  an  abbey  or  other  high  benefice,  and 
possesses  all  the  property  of  it,  without  any  other  title  but 
administrator.  For  at  Rome  it  is  enough  that  words  should 
change  and  not  deeds,  just  as  if  I  said,  a  procuress  was  to  be 
called  a  mayoress,  yet  may  remain  as  good  as  she  is  now. 
Such  Eomish  rule  was  foretold  by  St.  Peter,  when  he  said : 
"  There  shall  be  false  teachers  among  you  .  .  .  and  through 
covetousness  shall  they  with  feigned  words  make  merchandize 
of  you."  (2  Pet.  ii.  1,3.) 

This  precious  Roman  avarice  has  also  invented  the  practice 
of  selling  and  lending  prebends  and  benefices  on  condition 
that  the  seller  or  lender  has  the  reversion,  so  that  if  the 
incumbent  dies,  the  benefice  falls  to  him  that  has  sold  it,  lent 
it,  or  abandoned  it ;  in  this  way  they  have  made  benefices 
heritable  property,  so  that  none  can  come  to  hold  it  unless  the 
seller  sells  it  to  him,  or  leaves  it  to  him  at  his  death.  Then 
there  are  many  that  give  a  benefice  to  another  in  name  only ; 
and  on  condition  that  he  shall  not  receive  a  farthing.  It  is 
now  too  an  old  practice  for  a  man  to  give  another  a  benefice 
and  to  receive  a  certain  annual  sum,  which  proceeding  was 
formerly  called  simony.  And  there  are  many  other  such  little 
things  which  I  cannot  recount ;  and  so  they  deal  worse  with 

1  The  Papal  office  for  the  issue  and  registration  of  certain  documents 
was  called  Dataria,  from  the  phrase  appended  to  them,  Datum  apud 
S.  Fetrum.  The  chief  of  that  office,  usually  a  cardinal,  bore  the  title  of 
Datarius. 


ADDRESS   TO   THE   NOBILITY  41 

the  benefices  than  the  heathens  by  the  cross  dealt  with  Christ's 
clothes. 

But  all  this  that  I  have  spoken  of  is  old  and  common  at 
Kome.  Their  avarice  has  invented  other  device,  which  I  hope 
will  be  the  last  and  choke  it.  The  Pope  has  made  a  noble 
discovery,  called  Pectoralis  Reservatio,  that  is,  "  mental  reser- 
vation " — et  proprius  motus,  that  is,  "  and  his  own  will  and 
power."  The  matter  is  managed  in  this  way  :  Suppose  a  man 
obtains  a  benefice  at  Eome,  which  is  confirmed  to  him  in  due 
form ;  then  comes  another,  who  brings  money,  or  who  has  done 
some  other  service  of  which  the  less  said  the  better,  and  re- 
quests the  Pope  to  give  him  the  same  benefice,  then  the  Pope 
will  take  it  from  the  first  and  give  it  him.  If  you  say,  that  is 
wrong ;  the  Most  Holy  Father  must  then  excuse  himself,  that 
he  may  not  be  openly  blamed  for  having  violated  justice ;  and 
he  says  :  "  that  in  his  heart  and  mind  he  reserved  his  authority 
over  the  said  benefice  ;  "  whilst  he  never  had  heard  or  thought 
of  the  same  in  all  his  life.  Thus  he  has  devised  a  gloss  which 
allows  him  in  his  proper  person  to  lie  and  cheat  and  fool  us  all ; 
and  all  this  impudently  and  in  open  daylight,  and  nevertheless 
he  claims  to  be  the  head  of  Christendom  ;  letting  the  evil  spirit 
rule  him  with  manifest  lies. 

This  "  mere  motion"  and  lying  reservation  of  the  Popes  has 
brought  about  an  unutterable  state  of  things  at  Kome.  There 
is  a  buying  and  a  selling,  a  changing,  exchanging,  and  bargain- 
ing, cheating  and  lying,  robbing  and  stealing,  debauchery,  and 
villainy,  and  all  kinds  of  contempt  of  God,  that  Antichrist 
himself  could  not  rule  worse.  Venice,  Antwerp,  Cairo,  are 
nothing  to  this  fair  and  market  at  Eome,  except  that  there 
things  are  done  with  some  reason  and  justice,  whilst  here 
things  are  done  as  the  Devil  himself  could  wish.  And  out  of 
this  ocean  a  like  virtue  overflows  all  the  world.  Is  it  not 
natural  that  such  people  should  dread  a  reformation  and  a  free 
council,  and  should  rather  embroil  all  kings  and  princes,  than 
that  their  unity  should  bring  about  a  council  ?  Who  would 
like  his  villainy  to  be  exposed  ? 

Finally  the  Pope  has  built  a  special  house  for  this  fine  traffic, 
that  is,  the  house  of  the  Datarius  at  Kome.  Thither  all  must 
come  that  bargain  in  this  way  for  prebends  and  benefices ;  from 
him  they  must  buy  the  glosses  and  obtain  the  right  to  practise 


42  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

Such  prime  villainy.  In  former  days  it  was  fairly  well  at 
Rome,  when  justice  had  to  be  bought,  or  could  only  be  put 
down  by  money ;  but  now  she  has  become  so  fastidious,  that  she 
does  not  allow  any  one  to  commit  villainies,  unless  he  has  first 
bought  the  right  to  do  it  with  great  sums.  If  this  is  not  a 
house  of  prostitution,  worse  than  all  houses  of  prostitution  that 
can  be  conceived,  I  do  not  know  what  houses  of  prostitution 
really  are. 

If  you  bring  money  to  this  house,  you  can  arrive  at  all  that 
I  have  mentioned ;  and  more  than  this,  any  sort  of  usury  is- 
made  legitimate  for  money ;  property  got  by  theft  or  robbery 
is  here  made  legal.  Here  vows  are  annulled ;  here  a  monk 
obtains  leave  to  quit  his  order ;  here  priests  can  enter  married 
life  for  money  ;  here  bastards  can  become  legitimate ;  and  dis- 
honour and  shame  may  arrive  at  high  honours ;  all  evil  repute 
and  disgrace  is  knighted  and  ennobled;  here  a  marriage  is 
suffered  that  is  in  a  forbidden  degree,  or  has  some  other  defect. 
Oh,  what  a  trafficking  and  plundering  is  there  !  one  would 
think  that  the  canon  laws  were  only  so  many  ropes  of  gold, 
from  which  he  must  free  himself  who  would  become  a  Chris- 
tian man.  Nay,  here  the  Devil  becomes  a  saint,  and  a  God 
besides.  What  heaven  and  earth  might  not  do,  may  be  done 
by  this  house.  Their  ordinances  are  called  compositions — com- 
positions, forsooth  !  confusions  rather.1  Oh  what  a  poor  treasury 
is  the  toll  on  the  Rhine, 2  compared  with  this  holy  house ! 

Let  no  one  think  that  I  say  too  much.  It  is  all  notorious, 
so  that  even  at  Rome  they  are  forced  to  own  that  it  is  more 
terrible  and  worse  than  one  can  say.  I  have  said  and  will  say 
nothing  of  the  foul  dregs  of  private  vices.  I  only  speak  of 
well-known  public  matters,  and  yet  my  words  do  not  suffice. 
Bishops,  priests,  and  especially  the  doctors  of  the  universities, 
who  are  paid  to  do  it,  ought  to  have  unanimously  written  and 
exclaimed  against  it.  Yea,  if  you  will  turn  the  leaf,  you  will 
discover  the  truth. 

I  have  still  to  give  a  farewell  greeting.  These  treasures, 
that  would  have  satisfied  three  mighty  kings,  were  not  enough 
for  this  unspeakable  greed,  and  so  they  have  made  over  and 

1  Luther  uses  here  the  expressions  com/positiones  and  confasiones  as  a 
kind  of  pun. 

2  Tolls  were  levied  at  many  places  along  the  Rhine. 


ADDRESS   TO   THE    NOBILITY  43 

sold  their  traffic  to  Fugger  *  at  Augsburg,  so  that  the  lending 
and  buying  and  selling  sees  and  benefices,  and  all  this  traffic 
in-  ecclesiastical  property,  has  in  the  end  come  into  the  right 
hands,  and  spiritual  and  temporal  matters  have  now  become 
one  business.  Now  I  should  like  to  know  what  the  most 
cunning  would  devise  for  Komish  greed  to  do  that  it  has  not 
done ;  except  that  Fugger  might  sell  or  pledge  his  two  trades 
that  have  now  become  one.  I  think  they  must  have  come  to 
the  end  of  their  devices.  For  what  they  have  stolen  and  yet 
steal  in  all  countries  by  Bulls  of  Indulgences,  Letters  of  Con- 
fession, Letters  of  Dispensation 2  and  other  eonfessionalia,  all 
this  I  think  mere  bungling  work,  and  much  like  playing  toss 
with  a  devil  in  hell.  Not  that  they  produce  little,  for  a 
mighty  king  could  support  himself  by  them ;  but  they  are  as 
nothing  compared  to  the  other  streams  of  revenue  mentioned 
above.  I  will  not  now  consider  what  has  become  of  that 
Indulgence  money ;  I  shall  enquire  into  this  another  time,  for 
Campofiore  and  Belvedere 3  and  some  other  places  probably  know 
something  about  it. 

Meanwhile  since  this  devilish  state  of  things  is  not  only  an 
open  robbery,  deceit  and  tyranny  of  the  gates  of  hell,  but  also 
destroys  Christianity,  body  and  soul,  we  are  bound  to  use  all 
our  diligence  to  prevent  this  misery  and  destruction  of  Christen- 
dom. If  we  wish  to  fight  the  Turks,  let  us  begin  here,  where 
they  are  worst.  If  we  justly  hang  thieves  and  behead  robbers, 
why  do  we  leave  the  greed  of  Eome  so  unpunished,  who  is  the 
greatest  thief  and  robber  that  has  appeared  or  can  appear  on 
earth,  and  does  all  this  in  the  holy  name  of  Christ  and  St.  Peter  ? 
Who  can  suffer  this  and  be  silent  about  it  ?  Almost  every- 
thing that  he  possesses  has  been  stolen,  or  got  by  robbery,  as 
we  learn  from  all  histories.  Why,  the  Pope  never  bought  those 
great  possessions,  so  as  to  be  able  to  raise  wellnigh  ten  hundred 
thousand  ducats  from  his  ecclesiastical  offices,  without  counting 
his  gold  mines  described  above,  and  his   land.     He   did   not 

1  The  commercial  House  of  Fugger  was  in  those  days  the  wealthiest  in 
Europe. 

2  Luther  uses  the  word  Butterbriefe,  i.e.  letters  of  indulgence  allowing  the 
enjoyment  of  butter,  cheese,  milk,  etc.,  during  Lent.  They  formed  part  only 
of  the  eonfessionalia,  which  granted  various  other  indulgences. 

3  Parts  of  the  Vatican. 


44  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

inherit  it  from  Christ  and  St.  Peter ;  no  one  gave  it  or  lent  it 
him,  he  has  not  acquired  it  by  prescription.  Tell  me,  where 
can  he  have  got  it  ?  You  can  learn  from  this,  what  their  object 
is,  when  they  sent  out  legates  to  collect  money  to  be  used 
against  the  Turk. 

III. 

Twenty-seven  Articles  respecting  the  Eeformation  of 
the  Christian  Estate. 

Now  though  I  am  too  lowly  to  submit  articles  that  could  serve 
for  the  reformation  of  these  fearful  evils,  I  will  yet  sing  out  my 
fool's  song,  and  will  show,  as  well  as  my  wit  will  allow,  what 
might  and  should  be  done  by  the  temporal  authorities  or  by  a 
General  Council. 

1.  Princes,  nobles  and  cities  should  promptly  forbid  their  sub- 
jects to  pay  the  annates  and  should  even  abolish  them  altogether. 
For  the  Pope  has  broken  the  compact,  and  turned  the  annates 
into  robbery  for  the  harm  and  shame  of  the  German  nation;  he 
gives  them  to  his  friends ;  he  sells  them  for  large  sums  of  money 
and  founds  benefices  on  them.  Therefore  he  has  forfeited  his  right 
to  them,  and  deserves  punishment.  In  this  way  the  temporal 
power  should  protect  the  innocent  and  prevent  wrongdoing,  as  we 
are  taught  by  St.  Paul  (Kom.  xiii.)  and  by  St.  Peter  (1  Pet.  ii.) 
and  even  by  the  canon  law.  (16.  q.  7.  de  Filiis.)  That  is  why  we 
say  to  the  Pope  and  his  followers  :  tu  ora !  "  thou  shalt  pray  ;  " 
to  the  Emperor  and  his  followers :  tu  protege !  "  thou  shalt 
protect ;  "  to  the  commons  :  tu  labora !  "  thou  shalt  work;  "  not 
that  each  man  should  not  pray,  protect  and  work ;  for  if  a  man 
fulfils  his  duty,  that  is  prayer,  protection  and  work ;  but  every 
man  must  have  his  proper  task. 

2.  Since  by  means  of  those  Eomish  tricks  commendams, 
coadjutors,  reservations,  expectations,  Pope's  months,  incorpo- 
rations, unions,  Palls,  rules  of  chancellery,  and  other  such 
knaveries,  the  Pope  takes  unlawful  possession  of  all  German 
foundations,  to  give  and  sell  them  to  strangers  at  Eome,  that 
profit  Germany  in  no  way ;  so  that  the  incumbents  are  robbed 
of  their  rights,  and  the  bishops  are  made  mere  cyphers  and 
anointed  idols  ;  and  thus  besides  natural  justice  and  reason  the 
Pope's  own  canon  law  is  violated ;  and  things  have  come  to  such 


ADDRESS   TO   THE   NOBILITY  45 

a  pass,  that  prebends  and  benefits  are  sold  at  Koine  to  vulgar, 
ignorant  asses  and  knaves,  out  of  sheer  greed,  while  pious 
learned  men  have  no  profit  by  their  merit  and  skill,  whereby 
the  unfortunate  German  people  must  needs  lack  good,  learned 
Prelates  and  suffer  ruin — on  account  of  these  evils  the  Christian 
nobility  should  rise  up  against  the  Pope  as  a  common  enemy 
and  destroyer  of  Christianity,  for  the  sake  of  the  salvation  of  the 
poor  souls  that  such  tyranny  must  ruin.  They  should  ordain, 
order  and  decree  that  henceforth  no  benefice  shall  be  drawn 
away  to  Eome,  and  that  no  benefice  shall  be  claimed  there 
in  any  fashion  whatsoever  ;  and  after  having  once  got  these 
benefices  out  of  the  hands  of  Eomish  tyranny,  they  must  be 
kept  from  them,  and  their  lawful  incumbents  must  be  rein- 
stated in  them  to  administer  them  as  best  they  may,  within 
the  German  nation.  And  if  a  courtling  came  from  Eome,  he 
should  receive  the  strict  command  to  withdraw,  or  to  leap  into 
the  Ehine,  or  whatever  river  be  nearest,  and  to  administer  a 
cold  bath  to  the  Interdict,  seal  and  letters  and  all.  Thus  those 
at  Eome  would  learn,  that  we  Germans  are  not  to  remain 
drunken  fools  for  ever,  but  that  we,  too,  are  become  Christians, 
and  that  as  such,  we  will  no  longer  suffer  this  shameful  mockery 
of  Christ's  holy  name,  that  serves  as  a  cloak  for  such  knavery 
and  destruction  of  souls,  and  that  we  shall  respect  God  and 
the  glory  of  God  more  than  the  power  of  men. 

3.  It  should  be  decreed  by  an  Imperial  law,  that  no  epis- 
copal cloak,  and  no  confirmation  of  any  appointment  shall 
for  the  future  be  obtained  from  Eome.  The  order  of  the  most 
holy  and  renowned  Nicene  Council  must  again  be  restored, 
namely,  that  a  bishop  must  be  confirmed  by  the  two  nearest 
bishops,  or  by  the  archbishop.  If  the  Pope  cancels  the  decrees 
of  these  and  all  other  councils,  what  is  the  good  of  councils  at 
all?  Who  has  given  him  the  right  thus  to  despise  councils 
and  to  cancel  them  ?  If  this  is  allowed,  we  had  better  abolish 
all  bishops,  archbishops  and  primates,  and  make  simple  rectors  of 
all  of  them,  so  that  they  would  have  the  Pope  alone  over  them ; 
as  is  indeed  the  case  now ;  he  deprives  bishops,  archbishops  and 
primates  of  all  the  authority  of  their  office,  taking  everything 
to  himself,  and  leaving  them  only  the  name  and  the  empty 
title ;  more  than  this :  by  his  exemption  he  has  withdrawn 
convents,  abbots  and  prelates  from  the  ordinary  authority  of 


46  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

the  Bishops,  so  that  there  remains  no  order  in  Christendom. 
The  necessary  result  of  this  must  be,  and  has  been,  laxity  in 
punishing,  and  such  a  liberty  to  do  evil  in  all  the  world,  that 
I  very  much  fear  one  might  call  the  Pope  "  the  man  of  sin." 
Who  but  the  Pope  is  to  blame  for  this  absence  of  all  order,  of 
all  punishment,  of  all  government,  of  all  discipline  in  Chris- 
tendom ?  By  his  own  arbitrary  power  he  ties  the  hands  of  all 
his  prelates,  and  takes  from  them  their  rods,  while  all  their 
subjects  have  their  hands  unloosed,  and  obtain  license  by  gift 
or  purchase. 

But,  that  he  have  no  cause  for  complaint,  as  being  deprived 
of  his  authority,  it  should  be  decreed,  that  in  cases  where  the 
primates  and  archbishops  are  unable  to  settle  the  matter,  or 
where  there  is  a  dispute  among  them,  the  matters  shall  then  be 
submitted  to  the  Pope,  but  not  every  little  matter ;  as  was  clone 
formerly,  and  was  ordered  by  the  most  renowned  Nicene  Council. 
His  Holiness  must  not  be  troubled  with  small  matters,  that 
can  be  settled  without  his  help ;  so  that  he  may  have  leisure  to 
devote  himself  to  his  prayers  and  study,  and  to  his  care  of  all 
Christendom,  as  he  professes  to  do.  As  indeed  the  Apostles 
did,  saying  (Acts  vi.  2, 4) :  "It  is  not  reason  that  we  should  leave 
the  word  of  God,  and  serve  tables  .  .  .  But  we  will  give  our- 
selves continually  to  prayer,  and  to  the  ministry  of  the  word." 
But  now  we  see  at  Borne  nothing  but  contempt  of  the  Gospel 
and  of  prayer,  and  the  service  of  tables,  that  is,  the  service  of 
the  goods  of  this  world  ;  and  the  government  of  the  Pope  agrees 
©with  the  government  of  the  Apostles  as  well  as  Lucifer  with 
Christ,  hell  with  heaven,  night  with  day ;  and  yet  he  calls  him- 
self Christ's  Vicar,  and  the  successor  of  the  Apostles. 

4.  Let  it  be  decreed  that  no  temporal  matter  shall  be  sub- 
mitted to  Koine,  but  all  shall  be  left  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
temporal  authorities.  This  is  part  of  their  own  canon  law,  though 
they  do  not  obey  it.  For  this  should  be  the  Pope's  office,  that 
he,  the  most  learned  in  the  Scriptures,  and  the  most  holy,  not 
in  name  only,  but  in  fact,  should  rule  in  matters  concerning  the 
faith  and  the  holy  life  of  Christians ;  he  "should  make  primates 
and  bishops  attend  to  this,  and  should  work  and  take  thought 
with  them  to  this  end :  as  St.  Paul  teaches  (1  Cor.  vi.), 
severely  upbraiding  those  that  occupy  themselves  with  the 
things    of   this    world.     For    all    countries   suffer  unbearable 


ADDRESS   TO   THE    NOBILITY  47 

damage  by  this  practice  of  settling  such  matters  at  Borne,  since 
it  involves  great  expense ;  and  besides  this,  the  judges  at  Eome, 
not  knowing  the  manners,  laws  and  customs  of  other  countries, 
frequently  pervert  the  matter  according  to  their  own  laws 
and  their  own  opinions,  thus  causing  injustice  to  all  parties. 
Besides  this,  we  should  prohibit  in  all  foundations  the  grievous 
extortion  of  the  ecclesiastical  judges  ;  they  should  only  be  allowed 
to  consider  matters  concerning  faith  and  good  morals ;  but\ 
matters  concerning  money,  property,  life  and  honour,  should 
be  left  to  the  temporal  judges.  Therefore  the  temporal 
authorities  should  not  permit  excommunication  or  expulsion 
except  in  matters  of  faith  and  righteous  living.  It  is  only 
reasonable,  that  spiritual  authorities  should  have  power  in 
spiritual  matters ;  spiritual  matters,  however,  are  not  money 
or  matters  relating  to  the  body,  but  faith  and  good  works. 

Still  we  might  allow  matters  respecting  benefices  or  prebends 
to  be  treated  before  bishops,  archbishops  and  primates.  There- 
fore, when  it  is  necessary  to  decide  quarrels  and  strifes  let  the 
Primate  of  Germany  hold  a  general  consistory,  with  assessors 
and  chancellors,  who  would  have  the  control  over  the  signa- 
turas  gratiae  and  justitiae,1  and  to  whom  matters  arising  in 
Germany  might  be  submitted  by  appeal.  The  officers  of  such 
court  should  be  paid  out  of  the  annates,  or  in  some  other  way, 
and  should  not  have  to  draw  their  salaries  as  at  Eome  from 
chance  presents  and  offerings  ;  whereby  they  grow  accustomed 
to  sell  justice  and  injustice,  as  they  must  needs  do  at  Eome, 
where  the  Pope  gives  them  no  salary,  but  allows  them  to  fatten 
themselves  on  presents ;  for  at  Eome  no  one  heeds  what  is  right 
or  what  is  wrong,  but  only  what  is  money  and  what  is  not 
money.  But  this  matter  of  salaries  I  must  leave  to  men  of 
higher  understanding  and  of  more  experience  in  these  things 
than  I  have.  I  am  content  with  making  these  suggestions  and 
giving  some  materials  for  consideration  to  those  who  may  be 
able  and  willing  to  help  the  German  nation  to  become  a  free 
people  of  Christians,  after  this  wretched,  heathen,  unchristian 
misrule  of  the  Pope. 

1  At  the  time  when  the  above  was  written  the  function  of  the  signatura 
grattce  was  to  superintend  the  conferring  of  grants,  concessions,  favours,  etc. , 
whilst  the  signatura  justitice  embraced  the  general  administration  of  eccle- 
siastical matters. 


48  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

5.  Henceforth  no  reservations  shall  be  valid,  and  no  bene- 
fices shall  be  appropriated  by  Kome,  whether  the  incumbent  die, 
or  there  be  a  dispute,  or  the  incumbent  be  a  servant  of  the  Pope, 
or  of  a  cardinal ;  and  all  courtiers  shall  be  strictly  prohibited 
and  prevented  from  causing  a  dispute  about  any  benefice,  so  as 
to  cite  the  pious  priests,  to  trouble  them  and  to  drive  them 
into  a  lawsuit.  And  if  in  consequence  of  this  there  comes  an 
interdict  from  Eome,  let  it  be  despised,  just  as  if  a  thief  were 
to  excommunicate  any  man  because  he  would  not  allow  him  to 
steal  in  peace.  Nay,  they  should  be  punished  most  severely, 
for  making  such  a  blasphemous  use  of  Excommunication  and 
of  the  name  of  God,  to  support  their  robberies,  and  for  wishing 
by  their  false  threats  to  drive  us  to  suffer  and  approve  this 
blasphemy  of  (rod's  name,  and  this  abuse  of  Christian  authority  ; 
and  thus  to  become  sharers  before  God  in  their  wrongdoing, 
whereas  it  is  our  duty  before  God  to  punish  it,  as  St.  Paul 
(Kom.  i.)  upbraids  the  Komans  for  not  only  doing  wrong,  but 
allowing  wrong  to  be  done.  But  above  all  that  lying  mental 
reservation  (pectoralis  reservatio)  is  unbearable,  by  which  Chris- 
tendom is  so  openly  mocked  and  insulted,  in  that  its  head  noto- 
riously deals  with  lies,  and  impudently  cheats  and  fools  every 
man  for  the  sake  of  accursed  wealth. 

6.  The  cases  reserved  *  (casus  reservati)  should  be  abolished, 
by  which  not  only  are  the  people  cheated  out  of  much 
money,  but  besides  many  poor  consciences  are  confused  and 
led  into  error  by  the  ruthless  tyrants  to  the  intolerable  harm 
of  their  faith  in  God,  especially  those  foolish  and  childish 
cases  that  are  made  important  by  the  Bull  'In  Coena 
Domini,'2  and  which  do  not  deserve  the  name  of  daily 
sins ;  not  to  mention  those  great  cases  for  which  the  Pope 
gives  no  absolution :  such  as  preventing  a  pilgrim  from  going 
to  Rome,  furnishing  the  Turks  with  arms  or  forging  the  Pope's 
letters.  They  only  fool  us  with  these  gross,  mad  and  clumsy 
matters :  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  all  sins  that  are  committed 

1  "  Reserved  cases "  refer  to  those  great  sins  for  which  the  Pope  or  the 
bishops  only  could  give  absolution. 

2  The  celebrated  Papal  Bull  known  under  the  name  of  In  Coena  Domini, 
containing  anathemas  and  excommunications  against  all  those  who  dissented 
in  any  way  from  the  Roman  Catholic  creed,  used,  until  the  year  1770,  to  be 
read  publicly  at  Rome  on  Maundy  Thursday. 


ADDRESS   TO   THE   NOBILITY  49 

and  that  can  be  committed  against  God's  commandments  are, 
not  reserved  cases  ;  but  what  God  never  commanded  and  they 
themselves  have  invented — these  must  be  made  reserved  cases  ; 
solely  in  order  that  none  may  be  prevented  from  bringing 
money  to  Eome,  that  they  may  live  in  their  lust  without  fear 
of  the  Turk,  and  may  keep  the  world  in  their  bondage  by 
their  useless  Bulls  and  Briefs. 

Now  all  priests  ought  to  know,  or  rather  it  should  be  a 
public  ordinance,  that  no  secret  sin  constitutes  a  reserved  case, 
if  there  be  no  public  accusation ;  and  that  every  priest  has 
power  to  absolve  from  all  sin,  whatever  its  name,  if  it  be  secret, 
and  that  no  abbot,  bishop  or  Pope  has  power  to  reserve  any 
such  case ;  and  lastly,  that  if  they  do  this,  it  is  null  and  void, 
and  they  should  moreover  be  punished  as  interfering  without 
authority  in  God's  judgment  and  confusing  and  troubling  with- 
out cause  our  poor  witless  consciences.  But  in  respect  to  any 
great  open  sin,  directly  contrary  to  God's  commandments, 
there  is  some  reason  for  a  reserved  case ;  but  there  should  not 
be  too  many,  nor  should  they  be  reserved  arbitrarily  without 
due  cause.  For  God  has  not  ordained  tyrants,  but  shepherds 
in  His  Church,  as  St.  Peter  says.  (I  Pet.  v.  2.) 

7.  The  Konian  See  must  abolish  the  Papal  offices,  and 
diminish  that  crowd  of  crawling  vermin  at  Borne,  so  that 
the  Pope's  servants  may  be  supported  out  of  the  Pope's  own 
pocket,  and  that  his  court  may  cease  to  surpass  all  royal  courts 
in  its  pomp  and  extravagance ;  seeing  that  all  this  pomp  has 
not  only  been  of  no  service  to  the  Christian  faith,  but  has  also 
kept  them  from  study  and  prayer,  so  that  they  themselves 
know  hardly  anything  concerning  matters  of  faith ;  as  they 
proved  clumsily  enough  at  the  last  Boman  Council,1  where 
among  many  childishly  trifling  matters,  they  decided  "  that 
the  soul  is  immortal,"  and  that  a  priest  is  bound  to  pray  once 
every  month  on  pain  of  losing  his  benefice.2  How  are  men  to 
rule  Christendom  and  to  decide  matters  of  faith,  who,  callous  and 
blinded  by  their  greed,  wealth,  and  worldly  pomp,  have  only  just 

1  The  council  alluded  to  above  was  held  at  Eome  from  1512  to  1517. 

2  Luther's  objection  is  not,  of  course,  to  the  recognition  of  the  immortality 
of  the  soul ;  what  he  objects  to  is  (1)  that  it  was  thought  necessary  for  a 
council  to  decree  that  the  soul  is  immortal,  and  (2)  that  this  question  was 
put  on  a  level  with  trivial  matters  of  discipline. 


50  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

decided  that  the  soul  is  immortal  ?  It  is  no  slight  shame  to 
all  Christendom  that  they  should  deal  thus  scandalously  with 
the  faith  at  Eome.  If  they  had  less  wealth  and  lived  in  less 
pomp,  they  might  be  better  able  to  study  and  pray,  that  they 
might  become  able  and  worthy  to  treat  matters  of  belief,  as 
they  were  once,  when  they  were  content  to  be  bishops  and  not 
kings  of  kings. 

8.  The  terrible  oaths  must  be  abolished  which  bishops  are 
forced,  without  any  right,  to  swear  to  the  Pope,  by  which  they 
are  bound  like  servants,  and  which  are  arbitrarily  and  fool- 
ishly decreed  in  the  absurd  and  shallow  chapter,  Significasti} 
Is  it  not  enough  that  they  oppress  us  in  goods,  body,  and  soul 
by  all  their  mad  laws,  by  which  they  have  weakened  faith  and 
destroyed  Christianity ;  but  must  they  now  take  possession  of 
the  very  persons  of  Bishops,  with  their  offices  and  functions, 
and  also  claim  the  investiture 2  which  used  formerly  to  be  the 
right  of  the  German  Emperors,  and  is  still  the  right  of  the 
King  in  France  and  other  kingdoms?  This  matter  caused 
many  wars  and  disputes  with  the  Emperors  until  the  Popes 
impudently  took  the  power  by  force;  since  which  time  they 
have  retained  it;  just  as  if  it  were  only  right  for  the  Germans, 
above  all  Christians  on  earth,  to  be  the  fools  of  the  Pope  and  the 
Holy  See,  and  to  do  and  suffer  what  no  one  beside  would  suffer 
or  do.  Seeing  then  that  this  is  mere  arbitrary  power,  robbery, 
and  a  hindrance  to  the  exercise  of  the  bishop's  ordinary  power, 
and  to  the  injury  of  poor  souls  ;  therefore  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
Emperor  and  his  nobles  to  prevent  and  punish  this  tyranny. 

9.  The  Pope  should  have  no  power  over  the  Emperor,  except 
to  anoint  and  crown  him  at  the  altar,  as  a  bishop  crowns 
a  king ;  nor  should  that  devilish  pomp  be  allowed,  that  the 
Emperor  should  kiss  the  Pope's  feet,  or  sit  at  _  his  feet,  or,  as 
it  is  said,  hold  his  stirrup,  or  the  reins  of  his  mule,  when  he 
mounts  to  ride  ;  much  less  should  he  pay  homage  to  the  Pope, 
or  swear  allegiance,  as  is  impudently  demanded  by  the  Popes, 
as  if  they  had  a  right  to  it.     The  chapter  Solite, 3  in  which 

1  The  above  is  the  title  of  a  chapter  in  the  Corpus  juris  canonici. 

2  The  right  of  investiture  was  the  subject  of  the  dispute  between 
Gregory  VII.  and  Henry  IV.,  which  led  to  the  Emperor's  submission  at 
Canossa. 

3  The  chapter  Solite  is  also  contained  in  the  Corpus  juris  canonici. 


ADDRESS   TO   THE   NOBILITY  51 

the  papal  authority  is  exalted  above  the  Imperial,  is  not  worth 
a  farthing,  and  so  of  all  those  that  depend  on  it  or  fear  it ; 
for  it  does  nothing  but  pervert  God's  holy  words  from  their 
true  meaning,  according  to  their  own  imaginations,  as  I  have 
proved  in  a  Latin  treatise. 

All  these  excessive,  over-presumptuous  and  most  wicked 
claims  of  the  Pope  are  the  invention  of  the  Devil,  with  the  object 
of  bringing  in  Antichrist  in  due  course,  and  to  raise  the  Pope 
above  God  ;  as  indeed  many  have  done  and  are  now  doing.  It 
is  not  meet  that  the  Pope  should  exalt  himself  above  temporal 
authority,  except  in  spiritual  matters,  such  as  preaching  and 
absolution ;  in  other  matters  he  should  be  subject  to  it,  ac- 
cording to  the  teaching  of  St.  Paul  (Eom.  xiii.),  and  St.  Peter 
(1  Pet.  iii.),  as  I  have  said  above.  He  is  not  the  Vicar  of  Christ 
in  heaven,  but  only  of  Christ  upon  earth.  For  Christ  in 
heaven,  in  the  form  of  a  ruler,  requires  no  vicar,  but  there 
sits,  sees,  does,  knows,  and  commands  all  things.  But  He 
requires  him  "  in  the  form  of  a  servant  "  to  represent  Him  as 
He  walked  upon  earth,  working,  preaching,  suffering  and  dying. 
But  they  reverse  this ;  they  take  from  Christ  His  power  as  a 
heavenly  ruler,  and  give  it  to  the  Pope,  and  allow  "  the  form 
of  a  servant "  to  be  entirely  forgotten.  (Phil.  ii.  7.)  He  should 
properly  be  called  the  counter-Christ,  whom  the  Scriptures 
call  Antichrist ;  for  his  whole  existence,  work,  and  proceedings 
are  directed  against  Christ,  to  ruin  and  destroy  the  existence 
and  will  of  Christ. 

It  is  also  absurd  and  puerile  for  the  Pope  to  boast  for  such 
blind,  foolish  reasons,  in  his  decretal  Pastoralis,  that  he  is  the 
rightful  heir  to  the  Empire,  if  the  throne  be  vacant.  Who  gave 
it  to  him  ?  Did  Christ  do  so,  when  He  said  :  "  The  kings  of  the 
Gentiles  exercise  lordship  over  them,  but  ye  shall  not  do  so  "  ? 
(Luke  xxii.  25,  26.)  Did  St.  Peter  bequeath  it  to  him  ?  It 
disgusts  me  that  we  have  to  read  and  teach  such  impudent, 
clumsy,  foolish  lies  in  the  canon  law,  and  moreover  to  take 
them  for  Christian  doctrine,  while  in  reality  they  are  mere 
devilish  lies.  Of  this  kind  also  is  the  unheard-of  lie  touch- 
ing the   "  donation  of  Constantine." *    It   must  have  been  a 

1  In  order  to  legalise  the  secular  power  of  the  Pope,  the  fiction  was  in- 
vented during  the  latter  part  of  the  eighth  century,  that  Constantine  the 
Great  had  made  over  to  the  Popes  the  dominion  over  Rome  and  over  the 
whole  of  Italy. 

E 


52  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY    WORKS 

plague  sent  by  God  that  induced  so  many  wise  people  to 
accept  such  lies,  though  they  are  so  gross  and  clumsy,  that 
one  would  think  a  drunken  boor  could  lie  more  skilfully. 
How  could  preaching,  prayer,  study  and  the  care  of  the  poor 
consist  with  the  government  of  the  Empire  ?  These  are  the 
true  offices  of  the  Pope,  which  Christ  imposed  with  such  in- 
sistence that  He  forbade  them  to  take  either  coat  or  scrip 
(Matt.  x.  10),  for  he  that  has  to  govern  a  single  house  can 
hardly  perform  these  duties.  Yet  the  Pope  wishes  to  rule  an 
Empire  and  to  remain  a  Pope.  This  is  the  invention  of  the 
knaves  that  would  fain  become  lords  of  the  world  in  the 
Pope's  name,  and  set  up  again  the  old  Eoman  empire,  as  it 
was  formerly,  by  means  of  the  Pope  and  name  of  Christ,  in  its 
former  condition. 

10.  The  Pope  must  withdraw  his  hand  from  the  dish,  and 
on  no  pretence  assume  royal  authority  over  Naples  and  Sicily. 
He  lias  no  more  right  to  it  than  I,  and  yet  claims  to  be  the 
lord  of  it.  It  has  been  taken  by  force  and  robbery  like  almost 
all  his  other  possessions.  Therefore  the  Emperor  should  grant 
him  no  such  fief,  nor  any  longer  allow  him  those  he  has,  but 
direct  him  instead  to  his  Bibles  and  Prayer-books,  so  that  he 
may  leave  the  government  of  countries  and  peoples  to  the 
temporal  power,  especially  of  those  that  no  one  has  given  him. 
Let  him  rather  preach  and  pray  !  The  same  should  be  done 
with  Bologna,  Imola,  Yicenza,  Eavenna,  and  whatever  the  Pope 
has  taken  by  force  and  holds  without  right  in  the  Ancontine 
territory,  in  the  Eomagna  and  other  parts  of  Italy,  interfering 
in  their  affairs  against  all  the  commandments  of  Christ  and  St. 
Paul.  For  St.  Paul  says  (2  Tim.  ii.  4)  :  "  that  he  that  would 
be  one  of  the  soldiers  of  Heaven  must  not  entangle  himself  in 
.the  affairs  of  this  life."  Now  the  Pope  should  be  the  head 
and  the  leader  of  the  soldiers  of  Heaven,  and  yet  he  engages 
more  in  worldly  matters  than  any  king  or  emperor.  He  should 
be  relieved  of  his  worldly  cares  and  allowed  to  attend  to  his 
duties  as  a  .soldier  of  Heaven.  Christ  also,  whose  vicar  he 
claims  to  be,  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  things  of  this 
world,  and  even  asked  one  that  desired  of  him  a  judgment 
concerning  his  brother  :  "  Who  made  me  a  judge  over  you  ?  " 
(St.  Luke  xii.  14.)  But  the  Pope  interferes  in  these  matters 
unasked,  and  concerns  himself  with  all  matters,  as  though  he 


ADDRESS   TO   THE    NOBILITY  53 

were  a  god,  until  he  himself  has  forgotten  what  this  Christ 
is,  whose  vicar  he  professes  to  he. 

11.  The  custom  of  kissing  the  Pope's  feet  must  cease.  It 
is  an  un-CEFistian,  or  rather  an  anti-Christian  example,  that 
a  poor  sinful  man  should  suffer  his  foot  to  be  kissed  by  one 
who  is  a  hundred  times  better  than  he.  If  it  is  done  in 
honour  of  his  power,  why  does  he  not  do  it  to  others  in  honour 
of  their  holiness  ?  Compare  them  together :  Christ  and  the 
Pope.  Christ  washed  His  disciples'  feet  and  dried  them,  and 
the  disciples  never  washed  His.  The  Pope,  pretending  to  be 
higher  than  Christ,  inverts  this,  and  considers  it  a  great 
favour  to  let  us  kiss  his  feet :  whereas  if  any  one  wished  to 
do  so,  he  ought  to  do  his  utmost  to  prevent  them,  as  St.  Paul 
and  Barnabas  would  not  suffer  themselves  to  be  worshipped  as 
Gods  by  the  men  at  Lystra,  saying  :  "  We  also  are  men  of  like 
passions  with  you."  (Acts  xiv.  14  seq.)  But  our  flatterers  have 
brought  things  to  such  a  pitch,  that  they  have  set  up  an  idol 
for  us,  until  no  one  regards  God  with  such  fear,  or  honours  Him 
with  such  reverence  as  they  do  the  Pope.  This  they  can  suffer, 
but  not  that  the  Pope's  glory  should  be  diminished  a  single 
hair's-breadth.  Now  if  they  were  Christians  and  preferred  God's 
honour  to  their  own,  the  Pope  would  never  be  willing  to  have 
God's  honour  despised  and  his  own  exalted,  nor  would  he  allow 
any  to  honour  him,  until  he  found  that  God's  honour  was  again 
exalted  above  his  own. 

It  is  of  a  piece  with  this  revolting  pride,  that  the  Pope  is  not 
satisfied  with  riding  on  horseback  or  in  a  carriage,  but  though 
he  be  hale  and  strong,  is  carried  by  men  like  an  idol  in 
unheard-of  pomp.  I  ask  you,  how  does  this  Lucifer-like 
pride  agree  with  the  example  of  Christ,  who  went  on  foot,  as 
did  also  all  His  Apostles  ?  Where  has  there  been  a  king  who 
lived  in  such  worldly  pomp  as  he  does,  who  professes  to  be  the 
head  of  all  whose  duty  it  is  to  despise  and  flee  from  all  worldly 
pomp — I  mean,  of  all  Christians  ?  Not  that  this  need  concern 
us  for  his  own  sake,  but  that  we  have  good  reason  to  fear 
God's  wrath,  if  we  flatter  such  pride  and  do  not  show  our 
discontent.  It  is  enough  that  the  Pope  should  be  so  mad  and 
foolish ;  but  it  is  too  much  that  we  should  sanction  and 
approve  it. 

For  what  Christian  heart  can  be  pleased  at  seeing  the  Pope, 

e   2 


54  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

when  he  communicates,  sit  still  like  a  gracious  lord  and  have 
the  sacrament  handed  to  him  on  a  golden  reed,  by  a  cardinal 
bending  on  his  knees  before  him  ?  Just  as  if  the  holy  sacra- 
ment were  not  worthy  that  a  Pope,  a  poor  miserable  sinner, 
should  stand  to  do  honour  to  his  God,  although  all  other 
Christians,  who  are  much  more  holy  than  the  Most  Holy 
Father,  receive  it  with  all  reverence  ?  Could  we  be  surprised 
if  God  visited  us  all  with  a  plague,  for  that  we  suffer  such 
dishonour  to  be  done  to  God  by  our  prelates,  and  approve  it, 
becoming  partners  of  the  Pope's  damnable  pride  by  our  silence 
or  flattery  ?  It  is  the  same  when  he  carries  the  sacrament  in 
procession.  He  must  be  carried,  but  the  sacrament  stands 
before  him  like  a  cup  of  wine  on  a  table.  In  short,  at  Eome 
Christ  is  nothing,  the  Pope  is  everything ;  yet  they  urge  us 
and  threaten  us,  to  make  us  suffer  and  approve  and  honour 
this  Antichristian  scandal,  contrary  to  God  and  all  Christian 
doctrine.  Now,  may  God  so  help  a  free  Council,  that  it  may 
teach  the  Pope  that  he  too  is  a  man,  not  above  God  as  he 
makes  himself  out  to  be. 

12.  Pilgrimages  to  Eome  must  be  abolished,  or  at  least 
no  one  must  be  allowed  to  go  from  his  own  wish  or  his 
own  piety,  unless  his  priest,  his  town  magistrate,  or  his  lord 
has  found  that  there  is  sufficient  reason  for  his  pilgrimage. 
This  I  say,  not  because  pilgrimages  are  bad  in  themselves, 
but  because  at  the  present  time  they  lead  to  mischief;  for  at 
Eome  a  pilgrim  sees  no  good  examples,  but  only  offence. 
They  themselves  have  made  a  proverb  :  "  The  nearer  to  Eome, 
the  farther  from  Christ,"  and  accordingly  men  bring  home 
contempt  of  God  and  of  God's  commandments.  It  is  said  : 
"  The  first  time  one  goes  to  Eome,  he  goes  to  seek  a  rogue ;  the 
second  time  he  finds  him  ;  the  third  time  he  brings  him  home 
with  him."  But  now  they  have  become  so  skilful,  that  they 
can  do  their  three  journeys  in  one,  and  they  have  in  fact 
brought  home  from  Eome  this  saying : — It  were  better  never 
to  have  seen  or  heard  of  Eome. 

And  even  if  this  were  not  so,  there  is  something  of  more 
importance  to  be  considered ;  namely,  that  simple  men  are 
thus  led  into  a  false  delusion  and  a  wrong  understanding  of 
God's  commandments.  For  they  think  that  these  pilgrimages 
are  precious  and  good  works ;  but  this  is  not  true.     It  is  but 


ADDKESS   TO   THE   NOBILITY  55 

a  little  good  work  ;  often  a  bad, "misleading  work,  for  God  has 
not  commanded  it.  But  He  has  commanded  that  each  man 
should  care  for  his  wife  and  children  and  whatever  concerns 
the  married  state  ;  and  should,  besides,  serve  and  help  his 
neighbour.  Now  it  often  happens  that  one  goes  on  a  pilgrim- 
age to  Eome,  spends  fifty  or  one  hundred  guilders,  more  or  less, 
which  no  one  has  commanded  him,  while  his  wife  and  children, 
or  those  dearest  to  him,  are  left  at  home  in  want  and  misery ; 
and  yet  he  thinks,  poor  foolish  man,  to  atone  for  this  dis- 
obedience and  contempt  of  God's  commandments  by  his  self- 
willed  pilgrimage,  while  he  is  in  truth  misled  by  idle  curiosity, 
or  the  wiles  of  the  Devil.  This  the  Popes  have  encouraged 
with  their  false  and  foolish  inventions  of  Golden  Years,1  by 
which  they  have  incited  the  people,  have  torn  them  away  from 
God's  commandments  and  turned  them  to  their  own  delusive 
proceedings,  and  set  up  the  very  thing  that  they  ought  to  have 
forbidden.  But  it  brought  them  money  and  strengthened 
their  false  authority,  and  therefore  it  was  allowed  to  continue, 
though  against  God's  will  and  the  salvation  of  souls. 

That  this  false,  misleading  belief  on  the  part  of  simple 
Christians  may  be  destroyed,  and  a  true  opinion  of  good  works 
may  again  be  introduced,  all  pilgrimages  should  be  done  away 
with.  For  there  is  no  good  in  them ;  no  commandment ;  but 
countless  causes  of  sin  and  of  contempt  of  God's  command- 
ments. These  pilgrimages  are  the  reason  for  there  being  so 
many  beggars,  that  commit  numberless  villainies,  taught  by 
them  and  accustomed  to  beg  without  need.  Hence  arises  a 
vagabond  life  ;  besides  other  miseries  which  I  cannot  dwell 
on  now.  If  any  one  wishes  to  go  on  a  pilgrimage  or  to  make 
a  vow  for  a  pilgrimage,  he  should  first  inform  his  priest  or 
the  temporal  authorities  of  the  reason,  and  if  it  should  turn 
out  that  he  wished  to  do  it  for  the  sake  of  good  works,  let 
this  vow  and  work  be  just  trampled  upon  by  the  priest  or 
the  temporal  authority  as  an  infernal  delusion,  and  let  them 

1  The  Jubilees,  during  which  plenary  indulgences  were  granted  to  those 
who  visited  the  churches  of  St.  Peter  and  St  Paul  at  Rome,  were  originally 
celebrated  every  hundred  years  and  subsequently  every  twenty-five  years. 
Those  who  were  unable  to  go  to  Rome  in  person  could  obtain  the  plenary 
indulgences  by  paying  the  expenses  of  the  journey  to  Rome  into  the  Papal 
treasury. 


56  LUTHER'S   rRIMARY   WORKS 

tell  him  to  spend  Ins  money,  and  the  labour  a  pilgrimage 
would  cost,  on  God's  commandments,  and  on  a  thousand- 
fold better  work,  namely,  on  his  family  and  his  poor  neigh- 
bours. But  if  he  does  it  out  of  curiosity,  to  see  cities  and 
countries,  he  may  be  allowed  to  do  so.  If  he  have  vowed  it  in 
sickness,  let  such  vows  be  prohibited,  and  let  God's  command- 
ments be  insisted  upon  in  contrast  to  them  ;  so  that  a  man  may 
be  content  with  what  he  vowed  in  baptism,  namely,  to  keep 
God's  commandments.  Yet,  for  this  once  he  may  be  suffered, 
for  a  quiet  conscience  sake,  to  keep  his  silly  vow.  No  one 
is  content  to  walk  on  the  broad  high  road  of  God's  command- 
ments ;  every  one  makes  for  himself  new  roads  and  new  vows, 
as  if  he  had  kept  all  God's  commandments. 

13.  Now  we  come  to  the  great  crowd  that  promises  much 
and  performs  little.  Be  not  angry,  my  good  sirs,  I  mean 
well.  I  have  to  tell  you  this  bitter  and  sweet  truth :  Let  no 
more  mendicant  monasteries  be  built !  God  help  us  !  there  are 
too  many  as  it  is.  "Would  to  God  they  were  all  abolished,  or 
at  least  made  over  to  two  or  three  orders.  It  has  never 
done  good,  it  will  never  do  good,  to  go  wandering  about  over 
the  country.  Therefore  my  advice  is  that  ten,  or  as  many 
as  required,  may  be  put  together  and  made  into  one,  which 
one,  sufficiently  provided  for,  is  not  to  beg.  Oh  !  it  is  of  much 
more  importance  to  consider  what  is  necessary  for  the 
salvation  of  the  common  people,  than  what  St.  Francis,  or 
St.  Dominic,  or  St.  Augustine,1  or  any  other  man,  laid  down  ; 
especially,  since  things  have  not  turned  out  as  they  expected. 
They  should  also  be  relieved  from  preaching  and  confession, 
unless  specially  required  to  do  so  by  bishops,  priests,  the  con- 
gregation or  other  authority.  For  their  preaching  and  con- 
fession has  led  to  nought  but  mere  hatred  and  envy  between 
priests  and  monks,  to  the  great  offence  and  hindrance  of  the 
people,  so  that  it  well  deserves  to  be  put  a  stop  to,  since 
its  place  may  be  very  well  supplied.  It  does  not  look  at 
all  improbable  that  the  Holy  Koman  See  had  its  own  reasons 
for  encouraging  all  this  crowd  of  monks :  the  Pope  perhaps 
feared  that  priests  and  bishops,  growing  weary  of  his  tyranny, 

1  The  above-mentioned  saints  were  the  patrons  of  the  well-known  mendi- 
cant orders,  Franciscans,  Dominicans  and  Augustine.-;. 


ADDEESS   TO   THE    NOBILITY  57 

might  become  too  strong  for  him,  and  begin  a  reformation 
unendurable  to  his  Holiness. 

Besides  this,  one  should  also  do  away  with  the  sections  and 
the  divisions  in  the  same  order  which,  caused  for  little  reason 
and  kept  up  for  less,  oppose  each  other  with  unspeakable  hatred 
and  malice.  The  result  being,  that  the  Christian  faith,  which 
is  very  well  able  to  stand  without  their  divisions,  is  lost  on 
both  sides,  and  that  a  true  Christian  life  is  sought  and  judged 
only  by  outward  rules,  works  and  manners,  from  which  arise 
only  hypocrisy  and  the  destruction  of  souls ;  as  every  one  can 
see  for  himself.  Moreover  the  Pope  should  be  forbidden  to 
institute  or  to  confirm  the  institution  of  such  new  orders, 
nay,  he  should  be  commanded  to  abolish  several  and  to  lessen 
their  number.  For  the  faith  of  Christ,  which  alone  is  the 
important  matter  and  can  stand  without  any  particular  Order, 
incurs  no  little  danger,  lest  men  should  be  led  away  by  these 
diverse  works  and  manners,  rather  to  live  for  such  works  and 
manners  than  to  care  for  faith.  And  unless  there  are  wise 
prelates  in  the  monasteries  who  preach  and  urge  faith  rather 
than  the  rule  of  the  order,  it  is  inevitable  that  the  order 
should  be  injurious  and  misleading  to  simple  souls,  who  have 
regard  to  works  alone. 

Now  in  our  own  time  all  the  prelates  are  dead  that  had 
faith  and  founded  orders.  Just  as  it  was  in  old  days  with 
the  children  of  Israel ;  when  their  fathers  were  dead,  that  had 
seen  God's  works  and  miracles,  their  children,  out  of  ignorance 
of  God's  work  and  of  faith,  soon  began  to  set  up  idolatry  and 
their  own  human  works.  In  the  same  way,  alas  !  these  orders, 
not  understanding  God's  works  and  faith,  grievously  labour 
and  torment  themselves  by  their  own  rules  and  laws,  and  yet 
never  arrive  at  a  true  understanding  of  a  spiritual  and  good 
life  ;  as  was  foretold  by  the  Apostle,  saying  of  them,  "  Having 
a  form  of  godliness,  but  denying  the  power  thereof.  .  .  .  Ever 
learning,  and  never  able  to  come  to  the  knowledge  "  of  what  a 
true  spiritual  life  is.  (2  Tim.  iii.  2-7.)  Better  to  have  no 
convents,  where  there  is  no  truly  spiritual  prelate,  of  under- 
standing in  Christian  faith,  to  govern  them  ;  for  such  a  prelate 
cannot  but  rule  with  injury  and  harm,  and  the  greater  the 
apparent  holiness  of  his  life  in  external  works,  the  greater 
the  harm. 


58  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

It  wr.  'Id  be,  I  think,  necessary,  especially  in  these  perilous 
times,  that  foundations  and  convents  should  again  be  organised 
as  they  were  in  the  time  of  the  Apostles  and  a  long  time  after  : 
namely,  when  they  were  all  free,  for  every  man  to  remain  there 
as  long  as  he  wished.  For  what  were  they  but  Christian  schools, 
in  which  the  Scriptures  and  Christian  life  were  taught,  and 
where  folk  were  trained  to  govern  and  to  preach ;  as  we  read 
that  St.  Agnes  went  to  school,  and  as  we  see,  even  now,  in  some 
nunneries,  as  at  Quedlinburg  and  other  places?  Truly  all 
foundations  and  convents  ought  to  be  free  in  this  way,  that 
they  may  serve  God  of  a  free  will  and  not  as  slaves.  But  now 
they  have  been  bound  round  with  vows  and  turned  into  eternal 
prisons,  so  that  these  vows  are  regarded  even  more  than  the 
vows  of  baptism.  But  what  fruit  has  come  of  this  we  daily 
see,  hear,  read  and  learn  more  and  more. 

I  dare  say  that  this  my  counsel  will  be  thought  very  foolish, 
but  I  care  not  for  this.  I  advise  what  I  think  best ;  reject 
it,  who  will.  I  know  how  these  vows  are  kept,  especially 
that  of  chastity,  which  is  so  general  in  all  convents,1  and 
yet  was  not  ordered  by  Christ,  and  it  is  given  to  compara- 
tively few  to  be  able  to  keep  it,  as  He  says  and  St.  Paul  also  : 
(Col.  ii.  20.)  I  wish  all  to  be  helped,  and  that  Christian  souls 
should  not  be  held  in  bondage,  through  customs  and  laws 
invented  by  men. 

14.  We  see  also  how  the  priesthood  is  fallen,  and  how  many 
a  poor  priest  is  encumbered  with  a  woman  and  children,  and 
burdened  in  his  conscience,  and  no  one  does  anything  to 
help  him,  though  he  might  very  well  be  helped.  Popes  and 
bishops  may  let  that  be  lost  that  is  being  lost,  and  that 
be  destroyed  which  is  being  destroyed  ;  I  will  save  my  con- 
science and  open  my  mouth  freely,  let  it  vex  Popes  and 
bishops  or  whoever  it  may  be ;  therefore  I  say :  According 
to  the  ordinances  of  Christ  and  His  Apostles  every  town 
should  have  a  minister,  as  St.  Paul  plainly  says  (Tit.  i.), 
and  this  minister  should  not  be  forced  to  live  without  a 
lawful  wife,  but  should  be  allowed  to  have  one,  as  St.  Paul 
writes  (1  Tim.  iii.),   saying   that   "A  bishop    then   must   be 

1  Luther  alludes  here,  of  course,'to  the/vow  of  celibacy,  which  was  curiously 
styled  the  vow  of  chastity ;  thus  indirectly  condemning  marriage  in  general. 


ADDRESS   TO   THE    NOBILITY  59 

blameless,  the  husband  of  one  wife  .  .  .  having  his  children 
in  subjection  with  all  gravity."  For  with  St.  Paul  a  bishop 
and  a  presbyter  are  the  same  thing,  as  St.  Jerome  also  con- 
firms. But  as  for  the  bishops  that  we  now  have,  of  these  the 
Scriptures  know  nothing ;  they  were  instituted  by  the  Christian 
congregations,  so  that  one  might  rule  over  many  ministers. 

Therefore,  we  teach  clearly  according  to  the  Apostle,  that  \ 
every  town  should  elect  a  pious  learned  citizen  from  the  con- 
gregation and  charge  him  with  the  office  of  minister ;  the 
congregation  should  support  him  and  he  should  be  left  at  liberty 
to  marry  or  not.  He  should  have  as  assistants,  several  priests 
and  deacons,  married  or  not,  as  they  please,  who  should  help 
him  to  govern  the  people  and  the  congregation  with  sermons 
and  the  ministration  of  the  sacraments,  as  is  still  the  case  in 
the  Greek  Church.  In  these  latter  times,  where  there  are 
soinany  persecutions  and  conflicts  against  heretics,  there 
were  many  holy  fathers,  who  voluntarily  abstained  from  the 
marriage  state,  that  they  might  study  more,  and  might  be 
ready  at  all  times  for  death  and  conflict.  Now  the  Koman 
See  has  interfered  of  its  own  perversity,  and  has  made  a 
general  law  by  which  priests  are  forbidden  to  marry.  This 
must  have  been  at  the  instigation  of  the  Devil,  as  was  foretold 
by  St.  Paul  (1  Tim.  iv.  1,  2,  seq.),  saying  that  "  there  shall  come 
teachers  giving  heed  to  seducing  spirits  .  .  .  forbidding  to 
marry,"  etc.  This  has  been  the  cause  of  so  much  misery  that 
it  cannot  be  told,  and  has  given  occasion  to  the  G-reek 
Church  to  separate  from  us,  and  has  caused  infinite  disunion, 
sin,  shame  and  scandal,  like  everything  that  the  Devil  does  or 
suggests.     Now  what  are  we  to  do  ? 

My  advice  is,  to  restore  liberty,  and  to  leave  every  man  free 
to  marry  or  not  to  marry.  But  if  we  did  this  we  should  have 
to  introduce  a  very  different  rule  and  order  for  property ;  the 
whole  canon  law  would  be  overthrown  and  but  few  benefices 
would  fall  to  Bonie.  I  am  afraid  greed  was  a  cause  of  this 
wretched,  unchaste  chastity ;  for  the  result  of  it  was  that  every 
man  wished  to  become  a  priest,  or  to  have  his  son  brought  up 
to  the  priesthood — not  with  the  intention  of  living  in  chastity, 
for  this  could  be  done  without  the  priestly  state,  but  to  obtain 
his  worldly  support  without  labour  or  trouble,  contrary  to 
God's  command  (Gen.  iii.) :  "  In  the  sweat  of  thy  face  shalt 


60  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

thou  eat  thy  bread ; "  and  they  have  given  a  colour  to  this 
commandment  as  though  their  work  was  praying  and  reading 
the  mass.  I  am  not  here  considering  Popes,  bishops,  canons, 
clergy  and  monks,  who  were  not  ordained  by  God ;  they  have 
laid  burdens  on  themselves,  and  they  may  bear  them.  I  speak 
of  the  office  of  parish  priest,  which  God  ordained,  who  must 
rule  a  congregation  with  sermons  and  the  ministration  of  the 
sacraments,  and  must  live  with  them  and  manage  their  own 
worldly  affairs.  These  should  have  the  liberty  given  them  by 
a  Christian  Council  to  marry  and  to  avoid  danger  and  sin.  For 
as  God  has  not  bound  them,  no  one  may  bind  them,  though  he 
were  an  angel  from  heaven — let  alone  the  Pope  ;  and  whatever  is 
contrary  to  this  in  the  canon  law  is  mere  idle  talk  and  invention. 

My  advice  further  is,  whoever  henceforth  is  ordained  priest, 
he  should  in  no  wise  take  the  vow  of  chastity,  but  should 
protest  to  the  bishop  that  he  has  no  authority  to  demand  this 
vow,  and  that  it  is  a  devilish  tyranny  to  demand  it.  But  if 
one  is  forced,  or  wishes  to  say,  as  some  do,  "  so  far  as  human 
frailty  permits,"  let  every  man  interpret  that  phrase  as  a  plain 
negative,  that  is,  "  I  do  not  promise  chastity ;  "  for  human 
frailty  does  not  allow  men  to  live  an  unmarried  life,  but  only 
angelic  fortitude  and  celestial  virtue.  In  this  way  he  will 
have  a  clear  conscience  without  any  vow.  I  offer  no  opinion, 
one  way  or  the  other,  whether  those  who  have  at  present  no 
wife  should  marry,  or  remain  unmarried.  This  must  be  settled 
by  the  general  order  of  the  Church  and  by  each  man's  discretion. 
But  I  will  not  conceal  my  honest  counsel,  nor  withhold  comfort 
from  that  unhappy  crowd  who  now  live  in  trouble  with  wife  and 
children,  and  remain  in  shame,  with  a  heavy  conscience,  hearing 
their  wife  called  a  priest's  harlot,  and  the  children  bastards. 
And  this  I  say  frankly,  by  my  fool's  privilege. 

There  is  many  a  poor  priest  free  from  blame  in  all  other 
respects,  except  that  he  has  succumbed  to  human  frailty  and 
come  to  shame  with  a  woman,  both  minded  in  their  hearts  to 
live  together  always  in  conjugal  fidelity,  if  only  they  could  do 
so  with  a  good  conscience,  though,  as  it  is,  they  live  in  public 
shame.  I  say,  these  two  are  surely  married  before  God.  I 
say,  moreover,  that  when  two  are  so  minded,  and  so  come  to 
live  together,  they  should  save  their  conscience;  let  the  man 
take  the  woman  as  his  lawful  wife,  and  live  with  her  faithfully 


ADDRESS   TO   THE   NOBILITY  61 

as  her  husband,  without  considering  whether  the  Pope  approve 
or  not,  or  whether  it  is  forbidden  by  canon  law,  or  temporal. 
The  salvation  of  your  soul  is  of  more  importance  than  their 
tyrannous,  arbitrary,  wicked  laws,  which  are  not  necessary  for 
salvation,  nor  ordained  by  God.  You  should  do  as  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  did,  who  stole  from  the  Egyptians  the  wages 
they  had  earned ;  or  as  a  servant  steals  his  well-earned  wages 
from  a  harsh  master ;  in  the  same  way  do  you  also  steal  your 
wife  and  child  from  the  Pope. 

Let  him  who  has  faith  enough  to  dare  this,  only  follow  me 
courageously :  I  will  not  mislead  him.  I  may  not  have  the 
Pope's  authority,  yet  I  have  the  authority  of  a  Christian  to 
help  my  neighbour  and  to  warn  him  against  his  sins  and 
dangers.     And  here  there  is  good  reason  for  doing  so. 

a.  It  is  not  every  priest  that  can  do  without  a  woman,  not  only 
on  account  of  human  frailty,  but  still  more  for  his  household. 
If,  therefore,  he  takes  a  woman,  and  the  Pope  allows  this,  but  will 
not  let  them  marry,  what  is  this  but  expecting  a  man  and  a 
woman  to  live  together  and  not  to  fall  ?  Just  as  if  one  were  to 
set  tire  to  straw,  and  command  it  should  neither  smoke  nor  burn. 

\h.  The  Pope  having  no  authority  for  such  a  command,  any 
more  than  to  forbid  a  man  to  eat  and  drink,  or  to  digest  or 
to  grow  fat,  no  one  is  bound  to  obey  it/  and  the  Pope  is 
answerable  for  every  sin  against  it,  for  all  the  souls  that  it 
has  brought  to  destruction,  and  for  all  the  consciences  that 
have  been  troubled  and  tormented  by  it.  He  has  long 
deserved  to  be  driven  out  of  the  world,  so  many  poor  souls  has 
he  strangled  with  this  Devil's  rope ;  though  I  hope  that  God 
has  shown  many  more  mercy  at  their  death  than  the  Pope  did 
in  their  life.  No  good  has  ever  come  and  can  ever  come  from 
the  Papacy  and  its  laws. 

c.  Even  though  the  Pope's  laws  forbid  it,  still  after  the 
married  state  has  been  entered,  the  Pope's  laws  are  superseded, 
and  are  valid  no  longer  :  for  God  has  commanded  that  no  man 
shall  put  asunder  husband  and  wife,  and  this  commandment  is 
far  above  the  Pope's  laws,  and  God's  command  must  not  be 
cancelled  or  neglected  for  the  Papal  commands.  It  is  true  that 
mad  lawyers  have  helped  the  Pope  to  invent  impediments  or 
hindrances  to  marriage,  and  thus  troubled,  divided,  and  per- 
verted the  married  state :    destroying  the  commandments   of 


62  LUTHEE'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

God.  What  need  I  say  further  ?  In  the  whole  body  of  the 
Pope's  canon  law,  there  are  not  two  lines  that  can  instruct  a 
pious  Christian,  and  so  many  false  and  dangerous  ones,  that  it 
were  better  to  treat  it  as  waste  paper. 

But  if  you  object  that  this  would  give  offence,  and  that 
one  must  first  obtain  the  Pope's  dispensation,  I  answer  that 
if  there  is  any  offence  in  it,  it  is  the  fault  of  the  See  of  Kome, 
which  has  made  unjust  and  unholy  laws.  It  is  no  offence 
to  God  and  the  Scriptures.  Even  where  the  Pope  has  power 
to  grant  dispensation  for  money  by  his  covetous  tyrannical 
laws,  every  Christian  has  power  to  grant  dispensation  in  the 
same  matter  for  the  sake  of  Christ  and  the  salvation  of  souls. 
For  Christ  has  freed  us  from  all  human  laws,  especially  when 
they  are  opposed  to  God  and  the  salvation  of  souls,  as 
St.  Paul  teaches.     (Gal.  v.  1,  and  1  Cor.  viii.  9,  10.) 

15.  I  must  not  forget  the  poor  convents.  The  evil  spirit, 
who  has  troubled  all  estates  of  life  by  human  laws,  and 
made  them  unendurable,  has  taken  possession  of  some  Abbots, 
Abbesses,  and  Prelates,  and  led  them  so  to  rule  their  brothers 
and  sisters,  that  they  do  but  go  soon  to  hell,  and  live  a 
wretched  life  even  upon  earth,  as  is  the  case  with  all  the 
Devil's  martyrs.  For  they  have  reserved  in  confession  all,  or 
at  least  some,  deadly  sins,  which  are  secret,  and  from  these  no 
brother  may  on  pain  of  excommunication  and  on  his  obedience 
absolve  another.  Now  we  do  not  always  find  angels  every- 
where, but  men  of  flesh  and  blood,  who  would  rather  incur  all 
excommunication  and  menace  than  confess  their  secret  sins  to 
a  prelate  or  the  confessor  appointed  for  them ;  consequently 
they  receive  the  sacrament  with  these  sins  on  their  con- 
science, by  which  they  become  irregular1  and  suffer  much 
misery.  Oh  blind  shepherds !  Oh  foolish  Prelates !  Oh 
ravenous  wolves  !  Now  I  say  that  in  cases  where  a  sin  is 
public  and  notorious,  it  is  only  right  that  the  Prelate  alone 
should  punish  it,  and  such  sins  and  no  others  he  may  reserve 
and  except  for  himself;  over  private  sins  he  has  no  authority, 
even  though  they  may  be  the  worst  that  can  be  committed  or 
imagined.  And  if  the  Prelate  excepts  these,  he  becomes  a 
tyrant  and  interferes  with  God's  judgment. 

1  Luther  uses  the  expression  irregulares,  which  was  applied  to  those  monks 
who  were  guilty  of  heresy,  apostasy,  transgression  of  the  vow  of  chastity,  etc. 


ADDRESS   TO   THE    NOBILITY  63 

Accordingly  I  advise  these  children,  brothers  and  sisters : 
if  your  superiors  will  not  allow  you  to  confess  your  secret 
sins  to  whomsoever  you  will,  then  take  them  yourself,  and 
confess  them  to  your  brother  or  sister,  to  whomsoever  you 
will ;  be  absolved  and  comforted,  and  then  go  or  do  what 
your  wish  or  duty  commands  ;  only  believe  firmly  that  you  have 
been  absolved,  and  nothing  more  is  necessary.  And  let  not 
their  threats  of  excommunication,  or  irregularity,  or  what  not, 
trouble  or  disturb  you  ;  these  only  apply  to  public  or  notorious 
sins,  if  they  are  not  confessed :  you  are  not  touched  by  them. 
How  canst  thou  take  upon  thyself,  thou  blind  Prelate,  to 
restrain  private  sins  by  thy  threats  ?  Give  up  what  thou 
canst  not  keep  publicly ;  let  God's  judgment  and  mercy  also 
have  its  place  with  thy  inferiors.  He  has  not  given  them  into 
thy  hands  so  completely  as  to  have  let  them  go  out  of  His 
own ;  nay,  thou  hast  received  the  smaller  portion.  Consider 
thy  statutes  as  nothing  more  than  thy  statutes,  and  do  not 
make  them  equal  to  God's  judgment  in  Heaven. 

16.  It  were  also  right  to  abolish  annual  festivals,  processions, 
and  masses  for  the  dead^or  at  least  to  diminish  their  number ; 
for  we  evidently  see  that  they  have  become  no  better  than 
a  mockery,  exciting  the  anger  of  God,  and  having  no  object 
but  money  getting,  eating  and  drinking.  How  should  it 
please  God  to  hear  the  poor  vigils  and  masses  mumbled 
in  this  wretched  way,  neither  read  nor  prayed  ?  Even  when 
they  are  properly  read,  it  is  not  done  freely  for  the  love  of 
God,  but  for  the  love  of  money  and  as  payment  of  a  debt. 
Now  it  is  impossible  that  anything  should  please  God,  or  win 
anything  from  Him  that  is  not  done  freely,  out  of  love  for 
Him.  Therefore,  as  true  Christians,  we  ought  to  abolish  or 
lessen  a  practice  that  we  see  is  abused,  and  that  angers  God 
instead  of  appeasing  Him.  I  should  prefer,  and  it  would  be 
more  agreeable  to  God's  will,  and  far  better  for  a  foundation, 
church  or  convent,  to  put  all  the  yearly  masses  and  vigils 
together  into  one  mass,  so  that  they  would  every  year  cele- 
brate, on  one  day,  a  true  vigil  and  mass  with  hearty  sincerity, 
devotion  and  faith,  for  all  their  benefactors.  This  would  be 
better  than  their  thousand  upon  thousand  masses  said  every 
year — each  for  a  particular  benefactor — without  devotion  and 
faith.     My  dear   fellow-Christians !    God  cares  not  for  much 


64  LUTHER'S    PRIMARY   WORKS 

prayer,  but  for  good  prayer.  Nay,  He  condemns  long  and 
frequent  prayers  (Matt.  vi.  2,  seq.),  saying  :  "  Verily  I  say 
unto  you,  they  have  their  reward."  But  it  is  the  greed  that 
cannot  trust  God  by  which  such  practices  are  set  up ;  it  is 
afraid  it  will  die  of  starvation. 

17.  One  should  also  abolish  certain  punishments  inflicted  by 
the  canon  law,  especially  the  interdict,  which  is  doubtless  the 
invention  of  the  evil  one.  Is  it  not  the  mark  of  the  Devil  to 
wish  to  better  one  sin  by  more  and  worse  sins  ?  It  is  surely 
a  greater  sin  to  silence  God's  word  and  service,  than  if  we 
were  to  kill  twenty  Popes  at  once,  not  to  speak  of  a  single 
priest  or  of  keeping  back  the  goods  of  the  Church.  This  is 
one  of  those  gentle  virtues  which  are  learnt  in  the  Spiritual 
law;  for  the  Canon  or  Spiritual  law  is  so  called  because  it 
comes  from  a  spirit— not  however  from  the  Holy  Spirit,  but 
from  the  Evil  Spirit. 

Excommunication  should  not  be  used  except  where  the 
Scriptures  command  it :  that  is,  against  those  that  have  not 
the  right  faith,  or  that  live  in  open  sin,  and  not  in  matters  of 
temporal  goods.  But  now  the  case  has  been  inverted ;  each 
man  believes  and  lives  as  he  pleases,  especially  those  that 
plunder  and  disgrace  others  with  excommunications  ;  and  all 
excommunications  are  now  only  in  matters  of  worldly  goods. 
For  which  we  have  no  one  to  thank  but  the  holy  canonical 
injustice.  But  of  all  this  I  have  spoken  previously  in  a 
sermon. 

The  other  punishments  and  penalties — suspension,  irregu- 
larity, aggravation,  re-aggravation,  deposition,1  thundering, 
lightning,  cursing,  damning  and  what  not,  all  these  should  be 
buried  ten  fathoms  deep  in  the  earth,  that  their  very  name  and 
memory  may  no  longer  live  upon  earth.  The  evil  spirit, 
who  was  let  loose  by  the  spiritual  law,  has  brought  all  this 
terrible  plague  and  misery  into  the  heavenly  kingdom  of  the 
holy  Church,  and  has  thereby  brought  about  nothing  but  the 
harm  and  destruction  of  souls,  that  we  may  well  apply  to  it 
the  words   of  Christ  (Matt,    xxiii.    13) :    "  But  woe  unto  you, 

1  Luther  enumerates  here  the  various  grades  of  punishment  inflicted  on 
priests.  The  aggravation  consisted  of  a  threat  of  excommunication,  after  a 
thrice-repeated  admonition,  whilst  the  conserpuence  of  re-aggravation  was 
immediate  excommunication. 


ADDRESS   TO   THE    NOBILITY  65 

scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites  !  for  you  shut  up  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  against  men  :  for  ye  neither  go  in  yourselves,  neither 
suffer  ye  them  that  are  entering  to  go  in." 

18.  One  should  abolish  all  saints'  days,  keeping  only  Sun- 
day. But  if  it. were  desired  to  keep  the  festival  of  Our  Lady 
and  the  greater  saints,  they  should  all  be  held  on  Sundays, 
or  only  in  the  morning  with  the  mass ;  the  rest  of  the  day 
being  a  working  day.  My  reason  is  this :  with  our  present 
abuses  of  drinking,  gambling,  idling,  and  all  manner  of  sin,  we 
vex  God  more  on  holy  days  than  on  others.  And  the  matter  is 
just  reversed;  we  have  made  holy  days  unholy,  and  work- 
ing days  holy,  and  do  no  service  but  great  dishonour  to  God 
and  His  saints  with  all  our  holy  days.  There  are  some 
foolish  prelates  that  think  they  have  done  a  good  deed,  if  they 
establish  a  festival  to  St.  Otilia,  or  St.  Barbara,  and  the  like, 
each  in  his  own  blind  fashion,  whilst  he  would  be  doing  a  much 
better  work  to  turn  a  saint's  day  into  a  working  day,  in  honour 
of  a  saint. 

Besides  these  spiritual  evils,  these  saints'  days  inflict  bodily 
injury  on  the  common  man  in  two  ways :  he  loses  a  day's 
work  and  he  spends  more  than  usual,  besides  weakening  his 
body  and  making  himself  unfit  for  labour,  as  we  see  every 
day,  and  yet  no  one  tries  to  improve  it.  One  should  not 
consider  whether  the  Pope  instituted  these  festivals,  or  whether 
we  require  his  dispensation  or  permission.  If  anything  is 
contrary  to  God's  will  and  harmful  to  men  in  body  and  soul, 
not  only  has  every  community,  council  or  government 
authority  to  prevent  and  abolish  such  wrong  without  the 
knowledge  or  consent  of  Pope  or  bishop  ;  but  it  is  their  duty, 
as  they  value  their  soul's  salvation,  to  prevent  it,  even  though 
Pope  and  bishop  (that  should  be  the  first  to  do  so)  are  un- 
willing to  see  it  stopped.  And  first  of  all  we  should  abolish 
church  wakes,*  since  they  are  nothing  but  taverns,  fairs  and 
gaming  places,  to  the  greater  dishonour  of  God  and  the  dam- 
nation of  souls.  It  is  no  good  to  make  a  talk  about  their 
having  had  a  good  origin  and  being  good  works.  Did  not  God 
set  aside  His  own  law  that  He  had  given  forth  out  of  heaven, 
when  He  saw  that  it  was  abused  ?  and  does  He  not  now  reverse 
every  day  what  He  has  appointed,  and  destroy  what  He  has 
made,  on  account  of  the  same  perverse  misuse,  as  it  is  written 


66  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

in  the  eighteenth  Psalm  (v.  26)  :  "  With  the  froward  thou  wilt 
show  thyself  froward." 

19.  The  degrees  of  relationship  in  which  marriage  is  for- 
bidden must  be  altered,  such  as  so-called  spiritual  relations  * 
in  the  third  and  fourth  degrees;  and  where  the  Pope  at 
Eome  can  dispense  in  such  matters  for  money,  and  make  shame- 
ful bargains,  every  priest  should  have  the  power  of  grant- 
ing the  same  dispensations  freely  for  the  salvation  of  souls. 
Would  to  God  that  all  those  things  that  have  to  be  bought 
at  Eome,  for  freedom  from  the  golden  noose  of  the  canon 
law,  might  be  given  by  any  priest  without  payment,  such  as 
Indulgences,  letters  of  Indulgences,  letters  of  dispensation, 
mass  letters,  and  all  the  other  religious  licences  and  knaveries 
at  Kome  by  which  the  poor  people  are  deceived  and  robbed  ! 
For  if  the  Pope  has  the  power  to  sell  for  money  his  golden 
snares,  or  canon  nets  (laws,  I  should  say),  much  more  has  a 
priest  the  power  to  cancel  them  and  to  trample  on  them  for 
God's  sake.  But  if  he  has  no  such  power,  then  the  Pope  can 
have  no  authority  to  sell  them  in  his  shameful  fair. 

Besides  this,  fasts  must  be_made  optional,  and  every  kind  of 
food  made  free,  aslsrcomnianded  in~th!TGospels.  (Matt.  xv.  11.) 
For  whilst  at  Borne  they  laugh  at  fasts,  they  let  us  abroad 
eat  oil  which  they  would  not  think  fit  for  greasing  their  boots, 
and  then  sell  us  the  liberty  of  eating  butter  and  other  things, 
whereas  the  Apostle  says,  that  the  Gospel  has  given  us 
freedom  in  all  such  matters.  (1  Cor.  x.  25  seq.)  But  they  have 
caught  us  in  their  canon  law  and  have  robbed  us  of  this 
right,  so  that  we  have  to  buy  it  back  from  them ;  they  have 
so  terrified  the  consciences  of  the  people,  that  one  cannot 
preach  this  liberty  without  rousing  the  anger  of  the  people, 
who  think  the  eating  of  butter  to  be  a  worse  sin  than  lying, 
swearing  and  unchastity.  We  may  make  of  it  what  we  will ; 
it  is  but  the  work  of  man,  and  no  good  can  ever  come  of  it. 

20.  The  country  chapels  and  churches  must  be  destroyed, 
such  as  those  to  which  the  new  pilgrimages  have  been  set 
on  foot,  Wilsnacht,  Sternberg,  Treves,  the  Grimmenthal, 
and  now  Batisbon,  and  many  others.  Oh  what  a  reckoning 
there  will  be  for  those  bishops  that  allow  these  inventions  of 
the  Devil  and  make  a  profit  out  of  them  !     They  should  be  the 

1  Those,  namely,  between  Sponsors  at  Baptism  and  their  Godchildren. 


ADDRESS   TO   THE    NOBILITY  67 

first  to  stop  it;  they  think  that  it  is  a  godly,  holy  thing, 
and  do  not  see  that  the  Devil  does  this  to  strengthen  covet- 
ousness,  to  teach  false  beliefs,  to  weaken  parish  churches,  to 
increase  drunkenness  and  debauchery,  to  waste  money  and 
labour,  and  simply  to  lead  the  poor  people  by  the  nose.  If 
they  had  only  studied  the  Scriptures  as  much  as  their  accursed 
canon  law,  they  would  know  well  how  to  deal  with  the  matter. 

The  miracles  performed  there  prove  nothing,  for  the  Evil  One 
can  also  show  wonders,  as  Christ  has  taught  us.  (Matt.  xxiv.  24.) 
If  they  took  up  the  matter  earnestly,  and  forbade  such  doings, 
the  miracles  would  soon  cease ;  or  if  they  were  done  by  God, 
they  would  not  be  prevented  by  their  commands.  And  if 
there  were  nothing  else  to  prove  that  these  are  not  works  of 
God,  it  would  be  enough  that  people  go  about  turbulently 
and  irrationally  like  herds  of  cattle,  which  could  not  possibly 
come  from  God.  God  has  not  commanded  it ;  there  is  no 
obedience,  and  no  merit  in  it ;  and  therefore  it  should  be 
vigorously  interfered  with  and  the  people  warned  against  it. 
For  what  is  not  commanded  by  God  and  goes  beyond  God's 
commandments  is  surely  the  Devil's  own  work.  In  this  way 
also  the  parish  churches  suffer,  in  that  they  are  less  venerated. 
In  fine,  these  pilgrimages  are  signs  of  great  want  of  faith  in 
the  people;  for  if  they  truly  believed,  they  would  find  all 
things  in  their  own  churches,  where  they  are  commanded  to  go. 

But  what  is  the  use  of  my  speaking  ?  Every  man  thinks 
only  how  he  may  get  up  such  a  pilgrimage  in  his  own  dis- 
trict, not  caring  whether  the  people  believes  and  lives  rightly. 
The  rulers  are  like  the  people — blind  leaders  of  the  blind. 
Where  pilgrimages  are  a  failure,  they  begin  to  glorify  their 
saints ;  not  to  honour  the  saints,  who  are  sufficiently  honoured 
without  them,  but  to  cause  a  concourse,  and  to  bring  in  money. 
Then  Pope  and  bishops  help  them ;  it  rains  indulgences,  and 
every  one  can  afford  to  buy  them  ;  but  what  God  has  com- 
manded no  one  cares  for ;  no  one  runs  after  it,  no  one  can 
afford  any  money  for  it.  Alas  for  our  blindness,  that  we  not 
only  suffer  the  Devil  to  have  his  way  with  his  phantoms,  but 
support  him !  I  wish  one  would  leave  the  good  saints  alone 
and  not  lead  the  poor  people  astray.  What  spirit  gave  the 
Pope  authority  to  "  glorify  "  the  saints  ?  Who  tells  him  whether 
they  are  holy,  or  not  holy  ?     Are  there  not  enough  sins  on 


68  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

earth,  as  it  is,  but  we  must  tempt  God,  interfere  in  His  judg- 
ment, and  make  money-bags  of  his  saints?  Therefore  my 
advice  is  to  let  the  saints  glorify  themselves ;  or  rather,  God 
alone  should  glorify  them,  and  every  man  should  keep  to 
his  own  parish,  where  he  will  profit  more  than  in  all  these 
shrines,  even  if  they  were  all  put  together  into  one  shrine. 
Here  a  man  finds  Baptism,  the  Sacrament,  preaching,  and  his 
neighbour,  and  these  are  more  than  all  the  saints  in  Heaven, 
for  it  is  by  God's  word  and  sacrament  that  they  have  all  been 
hallowed. 

Our  contempt  for  these  great  matters  justifies  God's  anger 
in  giving  us  over  to  the  devil  to  lead  us  astray,  to  get  up 
pilgrimages,  to  found  churches  and  chapels,  to  glorify  the 
saints  and  to  commit  other  like  follies,  by  which  we  are  led 
astray  from  the  true  faith  into  new  false  beliefs ;  just  as  he 
did  in  old  time  with  the  people  of  Israel,  whom  he  led  away 
from  the  temple  to  countless  other  places ;  all  the  while  in 
God's  name,  and  with  the  appearance  of  holiness,  against 
which  all  the  prophets  preached,  suffering  martyrdom  for 
their  words.  But  now  no  one  preaches  against  it ;  and 
probably  if  he  did,  bishops,  Popes,  priests  and  monks  would 
combine  to  martyr  him.  In  this  way  Antonius  of  Florence 
and  many  others  are  made  saints,  so  that  their  holiness 
may  serve  to  produce  glory  and  wealth,  whereas  otherwise 
they  would  have  served  simply  as  good  examples  for  the  glory 
of  God. 

Even  if  this  glorification  of  the  Saints  had  been  good  once, 
it  is  not  good  now ;  just  as  many  other  things  were  good 
once  and  are  now  occasion  of  offence  and  injurious,  such  as 
holidays,  ecclesiastical  treasures  and  ornaments.  For  it  is 
evident  that  what  is  aimed  at  in  the  glorification  of  saints  is 
not  the  glory  of  God,  nor  the  bettering  of  Christendom,  but 
money  and  fame  alone ;  one  church  wishes  to  have  an  advan- 
tage over  another,  and  would  be  sorry  to  see  another  church 
enjoying  the  same  advantages.  In  this  way  they  have  in 
these  latter  days  abused  the  goods  of  the  Church  so  as  to  gain 
the  goods  of  the  world;  so  that  everything,  and  even  God 
Himself,  must  serve  their  avarice.  Moreover  these  privileges 
cause  nothing  but  dissensions  and  worldly  pride ;  one  church 
being  different  from  the  rest,   they  despise  or   magnify   one 


ADDRESS   TO   THE   NOBILITY  69 

another,  whereas  all  goods  that  are  of  God  should  be  common 
to  all,  and  should  serve  to  produce  unity.  This,  too,  is  why 
they  please  the  Pope,  who  would  be  sorry  to  see  all  Christians 
equal  and  at  one  with  one  another. 

Here  must  be  added  that  one  should  abolish,  or  treat  as  of 
no  account,  or  give  to  all  churches  alike,  the  licences,  bulls, 
and  whatever  the  Pope  sells  at  his  flaying-ground  at  Eome. 
For  if  he  sells  or  gives  to  Wittenberg,  to  Halle,  to  Venice,  and 
above  all  to  his  own  city  of  Eome,  special  permissions,  privi- 
leges, indulgences,  graces,  advantages,  faculties,  why  does  he 
not  give  them  to  all  churches  alike  ?  Is  it  not  his  duty  to  do 
all  that  he  can  for  all  Christians  without  reward,  solely  for 
God's  sake,  nay,  even  to  shed  his  blood  for  them  ?  Why  then, 
I  should  like  to  know,  does  he  give  or  sell  these  things  to  one 
church  and  not  to  another  ?  Or  does  this  accursed  gold  make 
a  difference  in  his  Holiness's  eyes  between  Christians  who  all 
alike  have  baptism,  gospel,  faith,  Christ,  God,  and  all  things  ? 
Do  they  wish  us  to  be  blind,  when  our  eyes  can  see,  to  be 
fools,  when  we  have  reason,  that  we  should  worship  this 
greed,  knavery  and  delusion  ?  He  is  a  shepherd  forsooth — so 
long  as  you  have  money,  no  further;  and  yet  they  are  not 
ashamed  to  practise  all  this  knavery  right  and  left  with  their 
bulls.  They  care  only  for  that  accursed  gold  and  for  nought 
besides. 

Therefore  my  advice  is  this :  If  this  folly  is  not  done  away 
with,  let  all  pious  Christians  open  their  eyes  and  not  be  de- 
ceived by  these  Eomish  Bulls  and  seals,  and  all  their  specious 
pretences ;  let  them  stop  at  home  in  their  own  churches,  and 
be  satisfied  with  their  Baptism,  Gospel,  Faith,  Christ  and  God 
(who  is  everywhere  the  same),  and  let  the  Pope  continue  to 
be  a  blind  leader  of  the  blind.  Neither  Pope  nor  angel  can 
give  you  as  much  as  God  gives  you  in  your  own  parish ;  nay, 
he  only  leads  you  away  from  God's  gifts,  which  you  have  for 
nothing,  to  his  own  gifts,  which  you  must  buy  ;  giving  you  lead 
for  gold,  skin  for  meat,  strings  for  a  purse,  wax  for  honey, 
words  for  goods,  the  letter  for  the  spirit ;  as  you  can  see  for 
yourselves  though  you  will  not  perceive  it.  If  you  try  to 
ride  to  heaven  on  the  Pope's  wax  and  parchment,  your  carriage 
will  soon  break  down  and  you  will  fall  into  hell,  not  in  God's 
name. 

f  2 


70  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

Let  this  be  a  fixed  rule  for  you,  Whatever  has  to  be  bought 
of  the  Pope  is  neither  good,  nor  of  God.  For  whatever  conies 
from  God  is  not  only  given  freely,  but  all  the  world  is 
punished  and  condemned  for  not  accepting  it  freely.  So  is  it 
with  the  Gospel  and  the  works  of  God.  We  have  deserved  to 
be  led  into  these  errors,  because  we  have  despised  God's  holy 
word  and  the  grace  of  baptism,  as  St.  Paul  says  :  "  And  for 
this  cause  God  shall  send  them  strong  delusion,  that  they 
should  believe  a  lie :  that  they  all  might  be  damned  who 
believed  not  the  truth,  but  had  pleasure  in  unrighteousness." 
(2  Thess.  ii.  11,  12.) 

21.  It  is  one  of  the  most  urgent  necessities  to  abolish  all 
begging  in  Christendom.  No  one  should  go  about  begging 
among  Christians.  It  would  not  be  hard  to  do  this,  if  we 
attempted  it  with  good  heart  and  courage  :  each  town  should 
support  its  own  poor  and  should  not  allow  strange  beggars 
to  come  in — whatever  they  may  call  themselves :  pilgrims  or 
mendicant  monks.  Every  town  could  feed  its  own  poor ;  and 
if  it  were  too  small,  the  people  in  the  neighbouring  villages 
should  be  called  upon  to  contribute.  As  it  is,  they  have  to 
support  many  knaves  and  vagabonds  under  the  name  of  beggars. 
If  they  did  what  I  propose,  they  would  at  least  know  who 
were  really  poor  or  not. 

There  should  also  be  an  overseer  or  guardian  who  should 
know  all  the  poor,  and  should  inform  the  town  •  or  council,  or 
the  priest,  of  their  requirements ;  or  some  other  similar  provision 
might  be  made.  There  is  no  occupation,  in  my  opinion,  in 
which  there  is  so  much  knavery  and  cheating  as  among 
beggars ;  and  it  could  so  easily  be  prevented.  This  general, 
unrestricted  begging  is,  besides,  injurious  for  the  common 
people.  I  estimate  that  of  the  five  or  six  orders  of  mendicant 
monks,  each  one  visits  every  place  more  than  six  or  seven  times 
in  the  year ;  then  there  are  the  common  beggars,  messengers 
and  pilgrims  ;  in  this  way  I  calculate  every  city  has  a  black- 
mail levied  on  it  about  sixty  times  a  year,  not  counting  rates 
and  taxes  paid  to  the  civil  government  and  the  useless 
robberies  of  the  Koman  See ;  so  that  it  is  to  my  mind  one  of 
the  greatest  of  God's  miracles  how  we  manage  to  live  and 
support  ourselves. 

Some  may  think  that  in  this  way  the  poor  would  not  be  well 


ADDRESS   TO   THE   NOBILITY  71 

cared  for,  and  that  such  great  stone  houses  and  convents  would 
not  be  built,  and  not  so  plentifully,  and  I  think  so  too.  But 
there  would  be  no  harm  in  that.  If  a  man  will  be  poor,  he 
should  not  be  rich  ;  if  he  will  be  rich,  let  him  put  his  hand  to 
the  plough,  and  get  wealth  himself  out  of  the  earth.  It  is 
enough  to  provide  decently  for  the  poor,  that  they  may  not  die 
of  cold  and  hunger.  It  is  not  right,  that  one  should  work  that 
another  may  be  idle,  and  live  ill  that  another  may  live  well,  as 
is  now  the  perverse  abuse,  for  St.  Paul  says  (2  Thess.  iii.  10): 
"  If  any  would  not  work,  neither  should  he  eat."  God  has 
not  ordained  that  any  one  should  live  of  the  goods  of  others, 
except  priests  and  ministers  alone,  as  St.  Paul  says  (1  Cor.  ix. 
14),  for  their  spiritual  work's  sake ;  as  also  Christ  says  to  the 
Apostles  (Luke  x.  7)  :  "  The  labourer  is  worthy  of  his  hire." 

22.  It  is  also  to  be  feared  that  the  many  masses  that  have 
been  founded  in  convents  and  foundations,  instead  of  doing  any 
good,  arouse  God's  anger  ;  wherefore  it  would  be  well  to  endow 
no  more  masses  and  to  abolish  many  of  those  that  have  been 
endowed  ;  for  we  see  that  they  are  only  looked  upon  as  sacrifices 
and  good  works,  though  in  truth  they  are  sacraments  like  bap- 
tism and  confession,  and  as  such  profit  him  only  that  receives 
them.  But  now  the  custom  obtains  of  saying  masses  for  the 
living  and  the  dead,  and  everything  is  based  upon  them.  This 
is  the  reason  why  there  are  so  many,  and  that  they  have  come 
to  be  what  we  see. 

But  perhaps  all  this  is  a  new  and  unheard  of  doctrine, 
especially  in  the  eyes  of  those  that  fear  to  lose  their  livelihood, 
if  these  masses  were  abolished.  I  must  therefore  reserve 
what  I  have  to  say  on  this  subject  until  men  have  arrived  at 
a  truer  understanding  of  the  mass,  its  nature  and  use.  The 
mass  has,  alas !  for  so  many  years  been  turned  into  means  of 
gaining  a  livelihood,  that  I  should  advise  a  man  to  become  a 
shepherd,  a  labourer,  rather  than  a  priest,  or  monk,  unless  he 
knows  what  the  mass  is. 

All  this,  however,  does  not  apply  to  the  old  foundations  and 
chapters ;  which  were  doubtless  founded  in  order  that,  since 
according  to  the  custom  of  Germany  all  the  children  of  nobles 
cannot  be  landowners  and  rulers,  they  should  be  provided  for  in 
these  foundations,  and  these  serve  God  freely,  study  and  become 
learned  themselves,  and  help  others  to  acquire  learning.      I 


72  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

am  speaking  only  of  the  new  foundations,  endowed  for  prayers 
and  masses,  by  the  example  of  which  the  old  foundations  have 
become  burdened  with  the  like  prayers  and  masses,  making 
them  of  very  little,  if  of  any  use.  Through  (rod's  righteous 
punishment  they  have  at  last  come  down  to  the  dregs  as  they 
deserve ;  that  is,  to  the  noise  of  singers  and  organs,  and  cold, 
spiritless  masses,  with  no  end  but  to  gain  and  spend  the 
money  due  to  them.  Popes,  bishops  and  doctors  should 
examine  and  report  on  such  things ;  as  it  is  they  are  the 
guiltiest,  allowing  anything  that  brings  them  money;  the 
blind  ever  leading  the  blind.  This  comes  of  covetousness  and 
the  canon  law. 

It  must,  moreover,  not  be  allowed  in  future  that  one  man 
should  have  more  than  one  endowment  or  prebend.  He  should 
be  content  with  a  moderate  position  in  life,  so  that  others  may 
have  something  besides  himself;  and  thus  we  must  put  a  stop 
to  the  excuses  of  those  that  say  that  they  must  have  more 
than  one  office  to  enable  them  to  live  in  their  proper  station. 
It  is  possible  to  estimate  one's  proper  station  in  such  a  way, 
that  a  whole  kingdom  would  not  suffice  to  maintain  it.  So  it 
is  that  covetousness  and  want  of  faith  in  God  go  hand  in 
hand,  and  often  men  take  for  the  requirements  of  their  station 
what  is  mere  covetousness  and  want  of  faith. 

23.  As  for  the  fraternities,  together  with  indulgences, 
letters  of  indulgence,  dispensations,  masses  and  all  the  rest  of 
such  things,  let  it  all  be  drowned  and  abolished ;  there  is  no 
good  in  it  at  all.  If  the  Pope  has  the  authority  to  grant 
dispensation  in  the  matter  of  eating  butter  and  hearing  masses, 
let  him  allow  priests  to  do  the  same ;  he  has  no  right  to  take 
the  power  from  them.  I  speak  also  of  the  fraternities  in 
which  indulgences,  masses,  and  good  works  are  distributed. 
My  friend,  in  baptism  you  joined  a  fraternity  of  which  Christ, 
the  angels,  the  saints  and  all  Christians  are  members ;  be 
true  to  this,  and  satisfy  it,  and  you  will  have  fraternities  enough. 
Let  others  make  what  show  they  wish ;  they  are  as  counters 
compared  to  coins.  But  if  there  were  a  fraternity  that 
subscribed  money  to  feed  the  poor,  or  to  help  others  in  any 
way,  this  would  be  good,  and  it  would  have  its  indulgence  and 
its  deserts  in  Heaven.  But  now  they  are  good  for  nothing  but 
gluttony  and  drunkenness. 


ADDRESS   TO   THE    NOBILITY  73 

First  of  all  we  should  expel  from  all  German  lands  the  Pope's 
legates  with  their  faculties,  which  they  sell  to  us  for  much 
money,  though  it  is  all  knavery ;  as,  for  instance,  their  taking 
money  for  making  goods  unlawfully  acquired  to  be  good, 
for  freeing  from  oaths,  vows,  and  bonds,  thus  destroying  and 
teaching  others  to  destroy  truth  and  faith  mutually  pledged ; 
saying  the  Pope  has  authority  to  do  so.  It  is  the  Evil  Spirit 
that  bids  them  talk  thus,  and  so  they  sell  us  the  Devil's 
teaching,  and  take  money  for  teaching  us  sins  and  leading  us 
to  hell. 

•  If  there  were  nothing  else  to  show  that  the  Pope  is  Anti- 
christ, this  would  be  enough.  Dost  thou  hear  this,  0  Pope ! 
not  the  most  holy,  but  the  most  sinful  ?  Would  that  God 
would  hurl  thy  Chair  headlong  from  heaven,  and  cast  it  down 
into  the  abyss  of  hell !  Who  gave  you  the  power  to  exalt 
yourself  above  your  God  ?  To  break  and  to  loose  what  He  has 
commanded  ?  To  teach  Christians,  more  especially  Germans, 
who  are  of  noble  nature,  and  are  famed  in  all  histories  for  up- 
rightness and  truth,  to  be  false,  unfaithful,  perjured,  treacherous 
and  wicked  ?  God  has  commanded  to  keep  faith  and  observe 
oaths  even  with  enemies ;  you  dare  to  cancel  this  command, 
laying  it  down  in  your  heretical,  antichristian  decretals,  that 
you  have  power  to  do  so ;  and  through  your  mouth  and  your 
pen  Satan  lies  as  he  never  lied  before,  teaching  you  to  twist 
and  pervert  the  Scriptures  according  to  your  own  arbitrary 
will.  0,  Lord  Christ !  look  down  upon  this,  let  Thy  day  of 
judgment  come  and  destroy  the  Devil's  lair  at  Eome.  Behold 
him  of  whom  St.  Paul  spoke  (2  Thess.  ii.,  3,  4),  that  he  should 
exalt  himself  above  Thee  and  sit  in  Thy  Church,  showing 
himself  as  God — the  man  of  sin,  and  the  child  of  dam- 
nation. What  else  does  the  Pope's  power  do,  but  teach  and 
strengthen  sin  and  wickedness,  leading  souls  to  damnation  in 
Thy  name  ? 

The  children  of  Israel  in  old  times  kept  the  oath  that  they 
had  sworn,  in  ignorance  and  error,  to  the  Gibeonites,  their 
enemies.  And  King  Zedekiah  was  destroyed  utterly  with  his 
people,  because  he  broke  the  oath  that  he  had  sworn  to  the 
King  of  Babylon.  And  among  us,  a  hundred  years  ago, 
the  noble  King  Ladislaus  V.  of  Poland  and  Hungary  was  slain 
by  the  Turk  with  so  many  of  his  people,  because  he  allowed 


74  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

himself  to  be  misled  by  Papal  legates  and  cardinals,  and  broke 
the  good  and  useful  treaty  that  he  had  made  with  the 
Turk.  The  pious  Emperor  Sigismond  had  no  good  fortune 
after  the  Council  of  Constance,  in  which  he  allowed  the  knaves 
to  violate  the  safe  conduct  that  he  had  promised  to  John  Kuss 
and  Jerome ;  from  this  has  followed  all  the  miserable  strife 
between  Bohemia  and  ourselves.  And  in  our  own  time,  God 
help  us  !  how  much  Christian  blood  has  been  shed  on  account 
of  the  oath  and  bond  which  Pope  Julius  made  and  unmade 
between  the  Emperor  Maximilian  and  King  Lewis  of  France ! 
How  can  I  tell  all  the  misery  the  Popes  have  caused  by  such 
devilish  insolence,  claiming  the  power  of  breaking  oaths  between 
great  lords,  causing  a  shameful  scandal  for  the  sake  of 
money!  I  hope  the  day  of  judgment  is  at  hand;  things  cannot 
and  will  not  become  worse  than  the  dealings  of  the  Eoman 
Chair.  The  Pope  treads  God's  commandments  under  foot  and 
exalts  his  own  ;  if  this  is  not  Antichrist  I  do  not  know  what  is. 
But  of  this  and  to  more  purpose  another  time. 

24.  It  is  high  time  to  take  up  earnestly  and  truthfully 
the  cause  dL_the  Bohemians,  to  unite  them  with  ourselves 
and  ourselves  withTThem,  so  that  all  mutual  accusations,  envy 
and  hatred  may  cease.  I  will  be  the  first,  in  my  capacity  of 
fool,  to  give  my  opinion,  with  all  due  deference  to  those  of 
better  understanding. 

First  of  all,  we  must  honestly  confess  the  truth,  without  at- 
tempting self-justification,  and  own  one  thing  to  the  Bohemians, 
namely,  that  John  Huss  and  Jerome  of  Prague  were  burnt 
at  Constance  in  violation  of  the  Papal,  Christian,  and  Im- 
perial oath  and  safe  conduct,  and  that  thus  God's  commami- 
ment  was  broken  and  the  Bohemians  excited  to  great  anger. 
And  though,  no  doubt,  they  ought  to  have  been  perfect  men, 
and  have  patiently  endured  this  wrong  and  disobedience  to 
God,  yet  we  cannot  expect  them  to  approve  it  and  think  it 
right.  Nay,  even  now  they  should  run  any  danger  of  life 
and  limb  rather  than  own  that  it  is  right  to  break  an  Im- 
perial, Papal,  Christian  safe  conduct  and  act  faithlessly  in 
opposition  to  it.  Therefore,  though  the  Bohemians  may  be 
to  blame  for  their  impatience,  yet  the  Pope  and  his  followers 
are  most  to  blame  for  all  the  misery,  all  the  error  and  destruc- 
tion of  souls,  that  followed  this  Council  of  Constance. 


ADDEESS   TO   THE    NOBILITY  75 

It  is  not  rny  intention  here  to  judge  John  Huss's  belief  and 
to  defend  his  errors ;  although  my  understanding  has  not  been 
able  to  find  any  error  in  him,  and  I  would  willingly  believe 
that  men  who  violated  a  safe  conduct  and  God's  commandment 
(doubtless  possessed  rather  by  the  evil  spirit  than  by  the  Spirit 
of  God)  were  unable  to  judge  well  or  to  condemn  with  truth. 
No  one  can  imagine  that  the  Holy  Ghost  can  break  God's 
commandments ;  no  one  can  deny  that  it  is  breaking  God's 
commandments  to  violate  faith  and  a  safe  conduct,  even 
though  it  were  promised  to  the  devil  himself,  much  more 
then  in  the  case  of  a  heretic ;  it  is  also  notorious  that  a  safe 
conduct  was  promised  to  John  Huss  and  the  Bohemians,  and 
that  the  promise  was  broken  and  Huss  was  burnt.  I  have  no 
wish  to  make  a  saint  or  a  martyr  of  John  Huss  (as  some 
Bohemians  do),  though  I  own  that  he  was  treated  unjustly,  and 
that  his  books  and  his  doctrines  were  wrongfully  condemned ; 
for  God's  judgments  are  inscrutable  and  terrible,  and  none 
but  Himself  may  reveal  or  explain  them. 

All  I  say  is  this :  Granting  he  was  a  heretic,  however  bad  he 
may  have  been,  yet  he  was  burnt  unjustly  and  in  violation  of 
God's  commandments,  and  we  must  not  require  the  Bohemians 
to  approve  this,  if  we  wish  ever  to  be  at  one  with  them.  Plain 
truth  must  unite  us,  not  obstinacy.  It  is  no  use  to  say,  as 
they  said  at  the  time,  that  a  safe  conduct  need  not  be  kept,  if 
promised  to  a  heretic  ;  that  is  as  much  as  to  say,  one  may  break 
God's  commandments,  in  order  to  keep  God's  commandments. 
They  were  infatuated  and  blinded  by  the  Devil,  that  they 
could  not  see  what  they  said  or  did.  God  has  commanded  us  to 
observe  a  safe  conduct ;  and  this  we  must  do  though  the  world 
should  perish,  much  more  then  where  it  is  only  a  question  of 
a  heretic  being  let  free.  We  should  overcome  heretics  with 
books,  not  with  fire,  as  the  old  Fathers  did.  If  there  were  any 
skill  in  overcoming  heretics  with  fire  the  executioner  would  be 
the  most  learned  doctor  in  the  world ;  and  there  would  be  no 
need  to  study,  but  he  that  could  get  another  into  his  power 
could  burn  him. 

Besides  this,  the  Emperor  and  the  Princes  should  send  to 
Bohemia  several  pious,  learned  bishops  and  doctors,  but,  for 
their  life,  no  cardinal  or  legate  or  inquisitor,  for  such  people 
are  far   too  unlearned   in   all  Christian   matters,  and  do  not 


76  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

seek  the  salvation  of  souls ;  but  like  all  the  Papal  hypocrites, 
they  seek  only  their  own  glory,  profit  and  honour ;  they  were 
also  the  leaders  in  that  calamitous  affair  at  Constance.  But 
those  learned  men  should  inquire  into  the  faith  of  the  Bohemians 
to  ascertain  whether  it  would  be  possible  to  unite  all  their  sects 
into  one.  Moreover  the  Pope  should  (for  their  souls'  sake)  for  a 
time  abandon  his  supremacy  and,  in  accordance  with  the  statutes 
of  the  Nicene  Council,  allow  the  Bohemians  to  choose  for  them- 
selves an  Archbishop  of  Prague.  This  choice  to  be  confirmed 
by  the  Bishops  of  Olmutz  in  Moravia,  or  of  Grun  in  Hungary, 
or  the  Bishop  of  Gnesen  in  Poland,  or  the  Bishop  of  Magdeburg 
in  Germany.  It  is  enough  that  it  be  confirmed  by  one  or  two 
of  these  bishops,  as  in  the  time  of  St.  Cyprian.  And  the 
Pope  has  no  authority  to  forbid  it ;  if  he  forbids  it,  he  acts  as  a 
wolf  and  a  tyrant,  and  no  one  should  obey  him,  but  answer  his 
excommunication  by  excommunicating  him. 

Yet  if,  for  the  honour  of  the  Chair  of  St.  Peter,  any  one  prefers 
to  do  this  with  the  Pope's  knowledge,  I  do  not  object,  provided 
that  the  Bohemians  do  not  pay  a  farthing  for  it,  and  that  the 
Pope  do  not  bind  them  a  single  hair's  breadth,  or  subject  them 
to  his  tyranny  by  oath,  as  he  does  all  other  bishops,  against 
God  and  justice.  If  he  is  not  satisfied  with  the  honour 
of  his  assent  being  asked,  leave  him  alone  by  all  means  with 
his  own  rights,  laws,  and  tyrannies  ;  be  content  with  the  election, 
and  let  the  blood  of  all  the  souls  that  are  in  danger  be  upon 
his  head.  For  no  man  may  countenance  wrong,  and  we  have 
already  shown  enough  respect  to  tyranny.  If  we  cannot  do 
otherwise,  we  may  consider  the  popular  election  and  consent 
as  equal  to  a  tyrannical  confirmation ;  but  I  hope  this  will 
not  be  necessary.  Sooner  or  later  some  Komans,  or  pious 
bishops  and  learned  men,  must  perceive  and  avert  the  Pope's 
tyranny. 

I  do  not  advise  that  they  be  forced  to  abandon  the  sacrament 
in  both  kinds,  for  it  is  neither  unchristian  nor  heretical. 
They  should  be  allowed  to  continue  in  their  present  way  ;  but 
the  new  bishop  must  see  that  there  be  no  dissensions  about 
this  matter,  and  they  must  learn  that  neither  practice  is 
actually  wrong;  just  as  there  need  be  no  disputes  about  the 
priests  not  wearing  the  same  dress  as  the  laity.  In  the  same 
way,  if  they  do  not  wish  to  submit  to  the  canon  laws  of  the 


ADDRESS   TO   THE   NOBILITY  77 

Roman  Church,  we  must  not  force  them,  but  we  must  content 
ourselves  with  seeing  that  they  live  in  faith  and  according  to 
the  Scriptures.  For  Christian  life  and  Christian  faith  may- 
very  well  exist  without  the  Pope's  unbearable  laws ;  nay,  they 
cannot  well  exist  until  there  are  fewer  of  those  laws  or  none. 
Our  baptism  has  freed  us  and  made  us  subject  to  God's  word 
alone,  why  then  should  we  suffer  a  man  to  make  us  the  slaves 
of  his  words  ?  As  St.  Paul  says :  "  Stand  fast,  therefore,  in 
the  liberty  wherewith  Christ  hath  made  us  free,  and  be  not 
entangled  again  with  the  yoke  of  bondage."     (Gal.  v.  1.) 

If  I  knew  that  the  only  error  of  the  Hussites *  was  that 
they  believe  that  in  the  sacrament  of  the  altar  there  is  true 
bread  and  wine,  though  under  it  the  body  and  the  blood 
of  Christ ;  if,  I  say,  this  were  their  only  error,  I  should  not 
condemn  them ;  but  let  the  Bishop  of  Prague  see  to  this.  For 
it  is  not  an  article  of  faith  that  in  the  sacrament  there  is  bread 
and  wine  in  substance  and  nature,  which  is  a  delusion  of 
St.  Thomas  and  the  Pope :  but  it  is  an  article  of  faith,  that  in 
the  natural  bread  and  wine  there  is  Christ's  true  flesh  and  blood. 
We  should  accordingly  tolerate  the  views  of  both  parties  until 
they  are  at  one ;  for  there  is  not  much  danger  whether  you 
believe  there  is,  or  there  is  not,  bread  in  the  sacrament.  For 
we  have  to  suffer  many  forms  of  belief  and  order  that  do 
not  injure  the  Faith ;  but  if  they  believe  otherwise,  it  would 
be  better  not  to  unite  with  them,  and  yet  to  instruct  them  in 
the  truth. 

All  other  errors  and  dissensions  to  be  found  in  Bohemia 
should  be  tolerated  until  the  Archbishop  has  been  reinstated, 
and  has  succeeded,  in  time,  in  uniting  the  whole  people 
in  one  harmonious  doctrine.  We  shall  never  unite  them  by 
force,  by  driving  or  hurrying  them.  We  must  be  patient, 
and  use  gentleness.  Did  not  Christ  have  to  walk  with  His 
disciples,  suffering  their  unbelief,  until  they  believed  in  His 
resurrection  ?  If  they  had  but  once  more  a  regular  bishop,  and 
good  discipline  without  Romish  tyranny,  I  think  matters  would 
mend. 

The  temporal  possessions  of  the  Church  should  not  be  too 

1  Luther  uses  here  the  word  "Pickarten,"  which  is  a  corruption  of 
Begharden,  i.e.  "  Beghards,"  a  nickname  frequently  applied  in  those  days  to 
the  Hussites. 


78  LUTHEK'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

strictly  claimed ;  but  since  we  are  Christians  and  bound  to  help 
one  another,  we  have  the  right  to  give  them  these  things  for 
the  sake  of  unity,  and  to  let  them  keep  them,  before  God  and  the 
world ;  for  Christ  says  :  "  Where  two  or  three  are  gathered 
together  in  My  name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them."  Would 
to  God,  we  helped  on  both  sides  to  bring  about  this  unity, 
giving  our  hands  one  to  the  other  in  brotherly  humility,  not 
insisting  on  our  authority  or  our  rights !  Love  is  more,  and 
more  necessary  than  the  Papacy  at  Kome ;  the  Papacy  can 
exist  without  love,  and  love  can  exist  without  the  Papacy.  I 
hope  I  have  done  my  best  for  this  end.  If  the  Pope  or  his 
followers  hinder  this  good  work,  they  will  have  to  give  an 
account  of  their  actions,  for  having,  against  the  love  of  God, 
sought  their  own  advantage  more  than  their  neighbours'.  The 
Pope  should  abandon  his  Papacy,  all  his  possessions  and 
honours,|  if  ne  c°uld  save  a  soul  by  so  doing.  But  he  would 
rather  see  the  world  go  to  ruin  than  give  up  a  hair's  breadth 
of  the  power  he  has  usurped ;  and  yet  he  would  be  our  most 
holy  father  !     Herewith  am  I  at  least  excused. 

25.  The  Universities  also  require  a  good,  sound  Beformation. 
I  must  say  this,  let  it  vex  whom  it  may.  The  fact  is  that 
whatever  the  Papacy  has  ordered  or  instituted  is  only  de- 
signed for  the  propagation  of  sin  and  error.  What  are  the 
Universities,  as  at  present  ordered,  but  as  the  Book  of  Mac- 
cabees says :  "  Schools  of  '  Greek  fashion  '  and  '  heathenish 
manners.'  "  (2  Maccab.  iv.  12,  13) ;  full  of  dissolute  living, 
where  very  little  is  taught  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  of  the 
Christian  faith,  and  the  blind  heathen  teacher,  Aristotle,  rules 
even  further  than  Christ.  Now,  my  advice  would  be  that  the 
books  of  Aristotle,  the  '  Physics,'  the  '  Metaphysics,'  '  Of  the 
Soul,'  '  Ethics,'  which  have  hitherto  been  considered  the  best, 
be  altogether  abolished,  with  all  others  that  profess  to  treat  of 
nature,  though  nothing  can  be  learned  from  them,  either  of 
natural  or  of  spiritual  things.  Besides,  no  one  has  been  able 
to  understand  his  meaning,  and  much  time  has  been  wasted, 
and  many  noble  souls  vexed,  with  much  useless  labour,  study, 
and  expense.  I  venture  to  say  that  any  potter  has  more 
knowledge  of  natural  things  than  is  to  be  found  in  these 
books.  My  heart  is  grieved  to  see  how  many  of  the  best 
Christians  this   accursed,   proud,  knavish   heathen   has  fooled 


ADDRESS   TO   THE   NOBILITY  79 

and  led  astray  with  his  false  words.  God  sent  him  as  a 
plague  for  our  sins. 

Does  not  the  wretched  man  in  his  best  book,  '  Of  the  Soul,' 
teach  that  the  soul  dies  with  the  body  ;  though  many  have  tried 
to  save  him  with  vain  words,  as  if  we  had  not  the  Holy 
Scriptures  to  teach  us  fully  of  all  things,  of  which  Aristotle 
had  not  the  slightest  perception.  Yet  this  dead  heathen  has 
conquered,  and  has  hindered  and  almost  suppressed  the  books 
of  the  living  God  ;  so  that,  when  I  see  all  this  misery,  I  cannot 
but  think  that  the  evil  spirit  has  introduced  this  study. 

Then  there  is  the  '  Ethics,'  which  is  accounted  one  of  the 
best,  though  no  book  is  more  directly  contrary  to  God's  will 
and  the  Christian  virtues.  Oh,  that  such  books  could  be  kept 
out  of  the  reach  of  all  Christians !  Let  no  one  object  that  I 
say  too  much,  or  speak  without  knowledge.  My  friend,  I 
know  of  what  I  speak.  I  know  Aristotle  as  well  as  you  or  men 
like  you.  I  have  read  him  with  more  understanding  than 
St.  Thomas  or  Scotus;  which  I  may  say  without  arrogance, 
and  can  prove  if  need  be.  It  matters  not  that  so  many  great 
minds  have  exercised  themselves  in  these  matters  for  many 
hundred  years.  Such  objections  do  not  affect  me  as  they 
might  have  done  once ;  since  it  is  plain  as  day  that  many  more 
errors  have  existed  for  many  hundred  years  in  the  world  and 
the  Universities. 

I  would,  however,  gladly  consent  that  Aristotle's  books  of 
Logic,  Khetoric  and  Poetic  should  be  retained ;  or  they  might 
be  usefully  studied  in  a  condensed  form,  to  practise  young 
people  in  speaking  and  preaching  ;  but  the  notes  and  comments 
should  be  abolished,  and  just  as  Cicero's  Ehetoric  is  read  without 
note  or  comment,  Aristotle's  Logic  should  be  read  without  such 
long  commentaries.  But  now  neither  speaking  nor  preaching 
are  taught  out  of  them,  and  they  are  used  only  for  disputation 
and  confusion.  Besides  this  there  are  languages,  Latin,  Greek 
and  Hebrew,  the  Mathematics,  History ;  but  this  I  leave 
to  men  of  higher  understanding ;  if  they  seriously  strive 
after  reform,  all  these  things  will  come  of  themselves.  And 
truly  it  is  an  important  matter  !  for  it  concerns  the  teach- 
ing and  training  of  Christian  youths  and  of  our  noble  people,  in 
whom  Christianity  still  abides.  Therefore  I  think  that  Pope 
and  Emperor  could  have  no  better  task  than  the  reformation  of 


80  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

the   Universities,   just   as    there   is   nothing    more   devilishly 
mischievous  than  an  unreformed  University. 

Physicians  I  would  leave  to  reform  their  own  faculty; 
Lawyers  and  Theologians  I  take  under  my  charge,  and  say 
firstly,  that  it  would  be  right  to  abolish  the  canon  law  entirely, 
from  beginning  to  end,  more  especially  the  decretals.  We  are 
taught  quite  sufficiently  in  the  Bible  how  we  ought  to  act ;  all 
this  study  only  prevents  the  study  of  the  Scriptures,  and  for 
the  most  part  it  is  tainted  with  covetousness  and  pride.  And 
even  though  there  were  some  good  in  it,  it  should  nevertheless 
be  destroyed,  for  the  Pope  having  the  canon  law  in  scrinio 
pectoris,1  all  further  study  is  useless  and  deceitful.  At  the 
present  time  the  canon  law  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  books, 
but  in  the  whims  of  the  Pope  and  his  sycophants.  You 
may  have  settled  a  matter  in  the  best  possible  way  according  to 
the  canon  law,  but  the  Pope  has  his  scrinium  pectoris,  to  which 
all  law  must  bow  in  all  the  world.  Now  this  scrinium  is  often- 
times directed  by  some  knave,  and  the  devil  himself,  whilst  it 
boasts  that  it  is  directed  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  This  is  the  way 
they  treat  Christ's  poor  people,  imposing  many  laws  and  keeping 
none ;  forcing  others  to  keep  them,  or  to  free  themselves  by 
money. 

Therefore  since  the  Pope  and  his  followers  have  cancelled 
the  whole  canon  law,  despising  it  and  setting  their  own  will 
above  all  the  world,  we  should  follow  them  and  reject  the  books. 
Why  should  we  study  them  to  no  purpose  ?  We  should  never 
be  able  to  know  the  Pope's  caprice,  which  has  now  become  the 
canon  law.  Let  it  fall  then  in  God's  name,  after  having  risen 
in  the  devil's  name.  Let  there  be  henceforth  no  doctor 
decretorum,  but  let  them  all  be  doctor es  scrinii  papalis,  that  is, 
the  Pope's  sycophants.  They  say  that  there  is  no  better 
temporal  government  than  among  the  Turks,  though  they  have 
no  canon  nor  civil  law,  but  only  their  Koran ;  we  must  at  least 
own  that  there  is  no  worse  government  than  ours  with  its 
canon  and  civil  law,  for  no  estate  lives  according  to  the 
Scriptures,  or  even  according  to  natural  reason. 

The  civil  law,  too,  good  God !  what  a  wilderness  it  is  become  ! 
It  is,  indeed,  much  better,  more  skilful  and  more  honest  than 
the  canon  law,  of  which  nothing  is  good  but  the  name.     Still 

1  In  the  shrine  of  his  heart. 


ADDRESS   TO  THE   NOBILITY  81 

there  is  far  too  much  of  it.  Surely  good  governors,  judging 
according  to  the  Scriptures,  would  be  law  enough,  as  St.  Paul 
says :  "  Is  it  so,  that  there  is  not  a  wise  man  among  you  ?  No, 
not  one  that  shall  be  able  to  judge  between  his  brethren  ?  " 
(1  Cor.  vi.  5.)  I  think  also  that  the  common  law  and  the  usage 
of  the  country  should  be  preferred  to  the  law  of  the  Empire, 
and  that  the  law  of  the  Empire  should  only  be  used  in 
cases  of  necessity.  And  would  to  God  that,  as  each  land  has 
its  own  peculiar  character  and  nature,  they  could  all  be 
governed  by  their  own  simple  laws,  just  as  they  were  governed 
before  the  law  of  the  Empire  was  devised,  and  as  many  are 
governed  even  now  !  Elaborate  and  far-fetched  laws  are  only 
burdensome  to  the  people,  and  a  hindrance  rather  than  a  help 
to  business.  But  I  hope  that  others  have  thought  of  this,  and 
considered  it  to  more  purpose  than  I  could. 

Our  worthy  Theologians  have  saved  themselves  much  trouble 
and  labour  by  leaving  the  Bible  alone  and  only  reading  the 
Sentences.1  I  should  have  thought  that  young  Theologians 
might  begin  by  studying  the  Sentences  and  that  Doctors 
should  study  the  Bible.  Now  they  invert  this  :  the  Bible  is 
the  first  thing  they  study ;  this  ceases  with  the  Bachelor's 
degree;  the  Sentences  are  the  last,  and  these  they  keep  for 
ever  with  the  Doctor's  degree ;  and  this  too  under  such  sacred 
obligation  that  one  that  is  not  a  priest  may  read  the  Bible, 
but  a  priest  must  read  the  Sentences ;  so  that,  as  far  as  I  can 
see,  a  married  man  might  be  a  Doctor  in  the  Bible,  but  not  in 
the  Sentences.  How  should  we  prosper  so  long  as  we  act  so 
perversely,  and  degrade  the  Bible,  the  holy  word  of  God? 
Besides  this,  the  Pope  orders  with  many  stringent  words  that 
his  laws  be  read  and  used  in  schools  and  courts ;  while  the  law 
of  the  Gospel  is  but  little  considered.  The  result  is  that  in 
schools  and  courts  the  Gospel  lies  dusty  on  the  shelf,  so  that 
the  Pope's  mischievous  laws  may  alone  be  in  force. 

Since,  then,  we  hold  the  name  and  title  of  teachers  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  we  should  verily  be  forced  to  act  according  to 
our  title,  and  to  teach  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  nothing  else. 

1  Luther  refers  here  to  the  '  Sentences '  of  Petrus  Lomhardus,  the  so- 
called  magister  sententiarum,  which  formed  the  basis  of  all  dogmatic  inter- 
pretation from  about  the  middle  of  the  12th  century  down  to  the  Reforma- 
tion. 


82  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

Although,  indeed,  it  is  a  proud,  presumptuous  title,  for  a  man 
to  proclaim  himself  teacher  of  the  Scriptures,  still  it  could  be 
suffered,  if  the  works  confirmed  the  title.  But  as  it  is,  under 
the  rule  of  the  Sentences,  we  find  among  Theologians  more 
human  and  heathenish  fallacies  than  true  holy  knowledge  of 
the  Scriptures.  What  then  are  we  to  do  ?  I  know  not,  except 
to  pray  humbly  to  God  to  give  us  Doctors  of  Theology.  Doctors 
of  Arts,  of  Medicine,  of  Law,  of  the  Sentences,  may  be  made  by 
Popes,  Emperors  and  the  Universities  ;  but  of  this  we  may  be 
certain,  a  Doctor  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  can  be  made  by  none 
but  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  Christ  says :  "  They  shall  all  be  taught 
of  God."  (John  vi.  45.)  Now  the  Holy  Ghost  does  not  consider 
red  caps  or  brown,  or  any  other  pomp ;  nor  whether  we  are 
young  or  old,  layman  or  priest,  monk  or  secular,  virgin  or 
married  ;  nay,  he  once  spoke  by  an  ass  against  the  prophet  that 
rode  on  it.  Would  to  God  we  were  worthy  of  having  such 
Doctors  given  us,  be  they  laymen  or  priests,  married  or  virgin ! 
but  now  they  try  to  force  the  Holy  Ghost  to  enter  into  Popes, 
Bishops  or  Doctors,  though  there  is  no  sign  to  show  that  He  is 
in  them. 

We  must  also  lessen  the  number  of  theological  books,  and 
choose  the  best ;  for  it  is  not  the  number  of  books  that  make 


the  learned  man  ;  nor  much  reading,  but  good  books  often 
read,  however  few,  make  a  man  learned  in  the  Scriptures  and 
pious.  Even  the  Fathers  should  only  be  read  for  a  short  time 
as  an  introduction  to  the  Scriptures.  As  it  is,  we  read  nothing 
else,  and  never  get  from  them  into  the  Scriptures,  as  if  one 
should  be  gazing  at  the  sign-posts  and  never  follow  the  road. 
These  good  Fathers  wished  to  lead  us  into  the  Scriptures  by 
their  writings,  whereas  we  lead  ourselves  out  by  them,  though 
the  Scriptures  are  our  vineyard  in  which  we  should  all  work 
and  exercise  ourselves. 

Above  all,  in  schools  of  all  kinds  the  chief  and  most  common 
lesson  should  be  the  Scriptures,  and  for  young  boys  the  Gospel ; 
and  would  to  God  each  town  had  also  a  girl's  school  in  which 
girls  might  be  taught  the  Gospel  for  an  hour  daily,  either  in 
German  or  Latin  !  In  truth,  schools,  monasteries  and  convents, 
were  founded  for  this  purpose,  and  with  good  Christian  inten- 
tions ;  as  we  read  concerning  St.  Agnes,  and  other  saints ; l  then 
1  See  above/  p.  58. 


ADDKESS   TO   THE    NOBILITY  83 

were  there  holy  virgins  and  martyrs  ;  and  in  those  times  it  was 
well  with  Christendom ;  but  now  it  has  been  turned  into  nothing 
but  praying  and  singing.  Should  not  every  Christian  be 
expected  by  his  ninth  or  tenth  year  to  know  all  the  holy 
Gospels,  containing  as  they  do  his  very  name  and  life?  A 
spinner  or  a  seamstress  teaches  her  daughter  her  trade,  while 
she  is  young,  but  now  even  the  most  learned  Prelates  and 
Bishops  do  not  know  the  Gospel. 

Oh,  how  badly  we  treat  all  these  poor  young  people  that 
are  entrusted  to  us  for  discipline  and  instruction !  and  a  heavy 
reckoning  shall  we  have  to  give  for  it  that  we  keep  them  from 
the  word  of  God  ;  their  fate  is  that  described  by  Jeremiah : 
"  Mine  eyes  do  fail  with  tears,  my  bowels  are  troubled,  my  liver 
is  poured  upon  the  earth,  for  the  destruction  of  the  daughter  of 
my  people;  because  the  children  and  the  sucklings  swoon  in  the 
streets  of  the  city.  They  say  to  their  mothers,  Where  is  corn 
and  wine  ?  when  they  swooned  as  the  wounded  in  the  streets 
of  the  city,  when  their  soul  is  poured  out  into  their  mothers' 
bosom.'"'  (Lamen.  ii.  11,  12.)  We  do  not  perceive  all  this 
misery,  how  the  young  folk  are  being  pitifully  corrupted  in  the 
midst  of  Christendom,  all  for  want  of  the  Gospel,  which  we 
should  always  read  and  study  with  them. 

However,  if  the  high  schools  studied  the  Scriptures  diligently 
we  should  not  send  every  one  to  them,  as  we  do  now,  when 
nothing  is  considered  but  numbers,  and  every  man  wishes  to 
have  a  Doctor's  title ;  we  should  only  send  the  aptest  pupils, 
well  prepared  in  the  lower  schools.  This  should  be  seen  to  by 
princes  or  the  magistrates  of  the  towns,  and  they  should  take 
care  none  but  apt  pupils  be  sent.  But  where  the  Holy 
Scriptures  are  not  the  rule,  I  advise  no  one  to  send  his  child. 
Everything  must  perish  where  God's  word  is  not  studied 
unceasingly ;  and  so  we  see  what  manner  of  men  there  are 
now  in  the  high  schools,  and  all  this  is  the  fault  of  no  one 
but  of  the  Pope,  the  Bishops  and  the  Prelates,  to  whom  the 
welfare  of  the  young  has  been  entrusted.  For  the  High 
Schools  should  train  men  simply  to  be  of  good  understanding 
in  the  Scriptures,  fit  to  become  bishops  and  priests,  and  to 
stand  at  our  head  against  heretics  and  the  Devil  and  all  the 
world.  But  where  do  we  find  this  ?  I  greatly  fear  the 
High  Schools  are   nothing   but    great    gates    of  hell,   unless 


84  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

they  diligently  study  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  teach  them  to 
the  young  people. 

26.  I  know  well  the  Eoniish  mob  will  object  and  loudly 
pretend  that  the  Pope  took  the  Holy  Eoman  Empire  from  the 
Greek  Emperor  and  gave  it  to  Germany,  for  which  honour  and 
favour  he  is  supposed  to  deserve  submission  and  thanks  and  all 
other  kinds  of  returns  from  the  Germans.  For  this  reason 
we  are  not  to  presume  to  make  any  attempt  to  reform  them,  and 
we  are  to  consider  nothing  but  these  gifts  of  the  Eoman  Empire. 
This  is  also  the  reason  why  they  have  so  arbitrarily  and  proudly 
persecuted  and  oppressed  many  good  Emperors,  so  that  it  were 
pity  to  tell,  and  with  the  same  cleverness  have  they  made 
themselves  lords  of  all  the  temporal  power  and  authority,  in 
violation  of  the  holy  Gospel ;  and  accordingly  I  must  speak  of 
this  matter  also. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  true  Eoman  Empire,  of  which  the 
prophets  (Num.  xxiv.  24)  and  Daniel  (ii.  44)  spoke,  was  long  ago 
destroyed,  as  Balaam  clearly  foretold,  saying :  "  And  ships 
shall  come  from  the  coast  of  Chittim,  and  shall  afflict  Asshur, 
and  shall  afflict  Eber,  and  he  also  shall  perish  for  ever." 
(Num.  xxiv.  24.)  1  And  this  was  done  by  the  Goths,  and  more 
especially  since  the  empire  of  the  Turks  was  formed,  about  one 
thousand  years  ago,  and  so  gradually  Asia  and  Africa  were 
lost,  and  subsequently  France,  Spain,  and  finally  Yenice  arose, 
so  that  Eome  retains  no  part  of  its  former  power. 

Since,  then,  the  Pope  could  not  force  the  Greeks  and  the 
Emperor  at  Constantinople,  who  is  the  hereditary  Eoman 
Emperor,  to  obey  his  will,  he  invented  this  device  to  rob  him  of 
his  empire  and  title,  and  to  give  it  to  the  Germans,  who  were 
at  that  time  strong  and  of  good  repute ;  in  order  that  they 
might  take  the  power  of  the  Eoman  Empire  and  hold  it  of  the 
Pope ;  and  this  is  what  actually  has  happened.  It  was  taken 
from  the  Emperor  at  Constantinople,  and  the  name  and  title 
were  given  to  us  Germans,  and  therewith  we  became  subject 
to  the  Pope,  and  he  has  built  up  a  new  Eoman  Empire  on  the 
Germans.  For  the  other  Empire,  the  original,  came  to  an  end 
long  ago,  as  was  said  above. 

1  Luther  here  follows  the  Vulgate,  translating  the  above  verse  by :  "  Es 
werden  die  Romer  kommen  und  die  Juden  verstoren :  und  hernach  werden 
sie  auch  untergehen." 


ADDRESS   TO   THE   NOBILITY  85 

Thus  the  Roman  See  has  got  what  it  wished  :  Rome  has  been 
taken  possession  of,  and  the  German  Emperor  driven  out  and 
bound  by  oaths  not  to  dwell  in  Rome.  He  is  to  be  Roman 
Emperor  and  nevertheless  not  to  dwell  in  Rome  ;  and  moreover 
always  to  depend  on  the  Pope  and  his  followers,  and  to  do  their 
will.  We  are  to  have  the  title,  and  they  are  to  have  the  lands 
and  the  cities.  For  they  have  always  made  our  simplicity  the 
tool  of  their  pride  and  tyranny,  and  they  consider  us  as  stupid 
Germans  to  be  deceived  and  fooled  by  them  as  they  choose. 

Well,  for  our  Lord  God  it  is  a  small  thing  to  toss  kingdoms 
and  principalities  hither  and  thither ;  He  is  so  free  with  them, 
that  He  will  sometimes  take  a  kingdom  from  a  good  man  and 
give  it  to  a  knave ;  sometimes  through  the  treachery  of  false, 
wicked  men ;  sometimes  by  inheritance,  as  we  read  concerning 
Persia,  Greece,  and  nearly  all  kingdoms ;  and  Daniel  says  : 
"  Wisdom  and  might  are  His :  and  He  changes  the  times  and 
the  seasons,  and  He  removeth  Kiugs  and  setteth  up  Kings." 
(Dan.  ii.  20,  21.)  Therefore,  no  one  need  think  it  a  grand 
matter,  if  he  has  a  kingdom  given  to  him,  especially  if  he  be  a 
Christian ;  and  so  we  Germans  need  not  be  proud  of  having 
had  a  new  Roman  Empire  given  us.  For  in  His  eyes,  it  is  a 
poor  gift,  that  He  sometimes  gives  to  the  least  deserving ;  as 
Daniel  says :  "  And  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  are  rejmted 
as  nothing ;  and  He  does  according  to  His  will  in  the  army  of 
heaven,  and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth."  (Dan.  iv.  35.) 

Now  although  the  Pope  has  violently  and  unjustly  robbed  the 
true  Emperor  of  the  Roman  Empire,  or  its  name,  and  has  given 
it  to  us  Germans,  yet  it  is  certain  that  God  has  used  the  Pope's 
wickedness  to  give  the  German  nation  this  Empire  and  to  raise 
up  a  new  Roman  Empire,  that  exists  now,  after  the  fall  of  the 
old  Empire.  We  gave  the  Pope  no  cause  for  this  action,  nor 
did  we  understand  his  false  aims  and  schemes;  but  still, 
through  the  craft  and  knavery  of  the  Popes,  we  have,  alas !  all 
too  dearly,  paid  the  price  of  this  Empire  with  incalculable 
bloodshed,  with  the  loss  of  our  liberty,  with  the  robbery  of  our 
wealth,  especially  of  our  churches  and  benefices,  and  with  un- 
speakable treachery  and  insult.  We  have  the  Empire  in  name, 
but  the  Pope  has  our  wealth,  our  honour,  our  bodies,  lives  and 
souls,  and  all  that  we  have.  This  was  the  way  to  deceive  the 
Germans,  and  with  a  double  deceit.     What  the  Popes  wished 

g  2 


86  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

was,,  to  become  Emperors ;  and  as  they  could  not  do  this,  they 
put  themselves  above  the  Emperors. 

Since,  then,  we  have  received  this  Empire  through  God's 
providence  and  the  schemes  of  evil  men,  without  our  fault,  I 
would  not  advise  that  we  should  give  it  up,  but  that  we  should 
govern  it  honestly,  in  the  fear  of  God,  so  long  as  He  is  pleased 
to  let  us  hold  it.  For,  as  I  have  said,  it  is  no  matter  to  Him 
how  a  kingdom  is  come  by,  but  He  will  have  it  duly  governed. 
If  the  Popes  took  it  from  others  dishonestly,  we,  at  least,  did 
not  come  by  it  dishonestly.  It  was  given  to  us  through  evil 
men,  under  the  will  of  God,  to  whom  we  have  more  regard 
than  the  false  intentions  of  the  Popes,  who  wished  to  be 
Emperors  and  more  than  Emperors,  and  to  fool  and  mock  us 
with  the  name. 

The  King  of  Babylon  obtained  his  kingdom  by  force  and 
robbery.  Yet  God  would  have  it  governed  by  the  holy  princes, 
Daniel,  Ananias,  Asarias  and  Misael.  Much  more  then  does 
He  require  this  Empire  to  be  governed  by  the  Christian 
princes  of  Germany,  though  the  Pope  may  have  stolen 
or  robbed,  or  newly  fashioned  it.  It  is  all  God's  ordering, 
which  came  to  pass  before  we  knew  of  it. 

Therefore  the  Pope  and  his  followers  have  no  reason  to 
boast,  that  they  did  a  great  kindness  to  the  German  nation  in 
giving  them  this  Koman  Empire.  Firstly,  because  they  in- 
tended no  good  to  us  in  the  matter;  but  only  abused  our 
simplicity  to  strengthen  their  own  power  against  the  Koman 
Emperor  at  Constantinople,  from  whom,  against  God  and 
justice,  the  Pope  has  taken  what  he  had  no  right  to. 

Secondly,  the  Pope  sought  to  give  the  Empire,  not  to  us,  but 
to  himself,  and  to  become  lord  over  all  our  power,  liberty, 
wealth,  body  and  soul,  and  through  us  over  all  the  world,  if 
God  had  not  prevented  it ;  as  he  plainly  says  in  his  decretals, 
and  has  tried  with  many  mischievous  tricks  in  the  case  of 
many  German  Emperors.  Thus  we  Germans  have  been 
prettily  taught  German  :  Whilst  we  expected  to  become  lords, 
we  have  become  the  servants  of  the  most  crafty  tyrants ;  we 
have  the  name,  title  and  arms  of  the  Empire,  but  the  Pope  has 
the  treasure,  authority,  law  and  freedom  ;  thus  whilst  the  Pope 
eats  the  kernel,  he  leaves  us  the  empty  shells  to  play  with. 

Now  may  God  help  us  (who,  as  I  have  said,  assigned  us 


ADDRESS   TO   THE   NOBILITY  87 

this  kingdom  through  crafty  tyrants,  and  charged  us  to  govern 
it)  to  act  according  to  our  name,  title  and  arms,  and  to  secure 
our  freedom ;  and  thus  let  the  Komans  see  at  last  what  we 
have  received  of  God  through  them.  If  they  boast  that  they 
have  given  us  an  Empire ;  well,  be  it  so,  by  all  means :  then, 
let  the  Pope  give  up  Eome,  all  he  has  of  the  Empire,  and  free 
our  country  from  his  unbearable  taxes  and  robberies,  and  give 
back  to  us  our  liberty,  authority,  wealth,  honour,  body  and  soul, 
rendering  to  the  Empire  those  things  that  are  the  Empire's ; 
so  as  to  act  in  accordance  with  his  words  and  pretences. 

But  if  he  will  not  do  this,  what  game  is  he  playing  with  all 
his  falsehoods  and  pretences  ?  Was  it  not  enough  to  lead  this 
great  people  by  the  nose  for  so  many  hundred  years  ?  Because 
the  Pope  crowns  or  makes  the  Emperor,  it  does  not  follow  that 
he  is  above  him;  for  the  prophet,  St.  Samuel,  anointed  and 
crowned  King  Saul  and  David,  at  God's  command,  and  was 
yet  subject  to  them.  And  the  prophet  Nathan  anointed  King 
Solomon,  and  yet  was  not  placed  over  him ;  moreover  St.  Elisha 
let  one  of  his  servants  anoint  King  Jehu  of  Israel ;  yet  they 
obeyed  him.  And  it  has  never  yet  happened  in  the  whole 
world  that  any  one  was  above  the  king,  because  he  consecrated 
or  crowned  him,  except  in  the  case  of  the  Pope. 

Now  he  is  himself  crowned  Pope  by  three  cardinals;  yet 
they  are  subject  to  him  and  he  is  above  them.  "Why  then, 
contrary  to  his  own  example,  and  to  the  doctrine  and  prac- 
tice of  the  whole  world  and  the  Scriptures,  should  he  exalt 
himself  above  the  temporal  authorities  and  the  Empire,  for  no 
other  reason  than  that  he  crowns  and  consecrates  the  Emperor  ? 
It  suffices  that  he  is  above  him  in  all  divine  matters,  that  is 
in  preaching,  teaching  and  the  ministration  of  the  sacrament, 
in  which  matters,  however,  every  priest  or  bishop  is  above  all 
other  men;  just  as  St.  Ambrose  in  his  Chair  was  above  the" 
Emperor  Theodosius,  and  the  prophet  Nathan  above  David, 
and  Samuel  above  Saul.  Therefore  let  the  German  Emperor 
be  a  true  free  Emperor,  and  let  not  his  authority  or  his  sword 
T^overborne  by  these  blind  pretences  of  the  Pope's  sycophants, 
as  if  they  were  to  be  exceptions,  and  be  above  the  temporal 
sword  in  all  things. 

27.  Let  this  be  enough  about  the  faults  of  the  spiritual 
Estate,  though  many  more  might  be  found,  if  the  matter  were 


88  LUTHER'S    PRIMARY   WORKS 

properly  considered :  we  must  now  consider  the  defects  of  the 
temporal  Estates.  In  the  first  place,  we  require  a  general 
law  and  consent  of  the  German  nation  against  profusion  and 
extravagance  in  dress,  which  is  the  cause  of  so  much  poverty 
among  the  nobles  and  the  people.  Surely  God  has  given  to  us, 
as  to  other  nations,  enough  wool,  fur,  flax,  and  whatever  else 
is  required  for  the  decent  clothing  of  every  class;  and  it  cannot 
be  necessary  to  spend  such  enormous  sums  for  silk,  velvet, 
cloth  of  gold  and  all  other  kinds  of  outlandish  stuff.  I  think 
that  even  if  the  Pope  did  not  rob  us  Germans  with  his  unbearable 
taxes,  we  should  be  robbed  more  than  enough  by  these  secret 
thieves,  the  dealers  in  silk  and  velvet.  As  it  is  we  see  that 
every  man  wishes  to  be  every  other  man's  equal,  and  that  this 
causes  and  increases  pride  and  envy  among  us,  as  we  deserve ; 
all  which  would  cease,  with  many  other  misfortunes,  if  our 
self-will  would  but  let  us  be  gratefully  content  with  what  God 
has  given  us. 

It  is  similarly  necessary  to  diminish  the  use  of  spices,  which 
is  one  of  the  ships  in  which  our  gold  is  sent  away  from 
Germany.  God's  mercy  has  given  us  more  food,  and  that  both 
precious  and  good,  than  is  to  be  found  in  other  countries.  I 
shall  probably  be  accused  of  making  foolish  and  impossible 
suggestions,  as  if  I  wished  to  destroy  the  great  business  of 
commerce.  But  I  am  only  doing  my  part ;  if  the  community 
does  not  mend  matters,  every  man  must  do  it  himself.  I  do 
not  see  many  good  manners  that  have  ever  come  into  a  land 
through  commerce,  and  therefore  God  let  the  people  of  Israel 
dwell  far  from  the  sea  and  not  carry  on  much  trade. 

But  without  doubt  the  greatest  misfortune  of  the  Germans 
is  buying  on  credit.  But  for  this,  many  a  man  would  have 
to  leave  unbought  his  silk,  velvet,  cloth  of  gold,  spices  and 
all  other  luxuries.  The  system  has  not  been  in  force  for  more 
than  one  hundred  years,  and  has  already  brought  poverty, 
misery,  and  destruction  on  almost  all  princes,  foundations, 
cities,  nobles  and  heirs.  If  it  continues  for  another  hundred 
years  Germany  will  be  left  without  a  farthing,  and  we  shall 
be  reduced  to  eating  one  another.  The  Devil  invented  this 
system,  and  the  Pope  has  done  an  injury  to  the  whole  world 
by  sanctioning  it. 

My  request  and  my  cry,  therefore,  is  this  :  Let  each   man 


ADDRESS   TO   THE   NOBILITY  89 

see  to  the  destruction  of  himself  and  his  family,  which  is  no 
longer  at  the  door,  but  has  entered  the  house  ;  and  let  Emperors, 
Princes,  Lords  and  Corporations,  see  to  the  condemnation  and 
prohibition  of  this  kind  of  trade,  without  considering  the 
opposition  of  the  Pope  and  all  his  justice  and  injustice,  nor 
whether  livings  or  endowments  depend  upon  it.  Better  a 
single  foundation  in  a  city  based  on  a  freehold  estate  or  honest 
interest,  than  a  hundred  based  on  credit ;  yea,  a  single  endow- 
ment on  credit  is  worse  and  more  grievous  than  twenty  based 
on  real  estate.  Truly  this  credit  is  a  sign  and  warning,  that 
the  world  has  been  given  over  to  the  Devil  for  its  sins ;  and 
that  we  are  losing  our  spiritual  and  temporal  welfare  alike; 
yet  we  heed  it  not. 

Doubtless  we  should  also  find  some  bridle  for  the  Fuggers 
and  similar  companies.  Is  it  possible  that  in  a  single  man's 
lifetime  such  great  wealth  should  be  collected  together,  if  all 
were  done  rightly  and  according  to  God's  will  ?  I  am  not  skilled 
in  accounts.  But  I  do  not  understand  how  it  is  possible  for 
one  hundred  guilders  to  gain  twenty  in  a  year,  or  how  one 
guilder  can  gain  another,  and  that  not  out  of  the  soil,  or  by 
cattle,  seeing  that  possessions  depend  not  on  the  wit  of  men, 
but  on  the  blessing  of  God.  I  commend  this  to  those  that  are 
skilled  in  worldly  affairs.  I  as  a  theologian  blame  nothing 
but  the  evil  appearance,  of  which  St.  Paul  says  :  "  abstain  from 
all  appearance  of  evil."  (1  Thess.  v.  22.)  All  I  know  is  that 
it  were  much  more  godly  to  encourage  agriculture  and  lessen 
commerce ;  and  that  they  do  the  best  who,  according  to  the 
Scriptures,  till  the  ground  to  get  their  living,  as  we  are  all 
commanded  in  Adam :  "  Cursed  is  the  ground  for  thy  sake. 
.  .  .  Thorns  also  and  thistles  shall  it  bring  forth  to  thee.  .  .  . 
In  the  sweat  of  thy  face  shalt  thou  eat  bread."  (Gen.  iii.  17-19.) 
There  is  still  much  ground  that  is  not  ploughed  or  tilled. 

Then  there  is  the  excess  in  eating  and  drinking,  for  which 
we  Germans  have  an  ill  reputation  in  foreign  countries,  as 
our  special  vice,  and  which  has  become  so  common,  and  gained 
so  much  the  upper  hand,  that  sermons  avail  nothing.  The  loss 
of  money  caused  by  it  is  not  the  worst ;  but  in  its  train 
come  murder,  adultery,  theft,  blasphemy  and  all  vices.  The 
temporal  power  should  do  something  to  prevent  it ;  otherwise 
it  will  come  to  pass,  as  Christ  foretold,  that  the  last  day  shall 


90  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

come  as  a  thief  in  the  night,  and  shall  find  them  eating  and 
drinking,  marrying  and  giving  in  marriage,  planting  and 
building,  buying  and  selling  (Matt.  xxiv.  38  ;  Luke  xvii.  26) — 
just  as  things  go  on  now ;  and  that  so  strongly,  that  I  appre- 
hend lest  the  day  of  judgment  be  at  hand,  even  now  when  we 
least  expect  it. 

Lastly,  is  it  not  a  terrible  thing  that  we  Christians  should 
maintain  public  brothels,  though  we  all  vow  chastity  in  our 
baptism  ?  I  well  know  all  that  can  be  said  on  this  matter,  that 
it  is  not  peculiar  to  one  nation,  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  alter 
it,  and  that  it  is  better  thus  than  that  virgins,  or  married  women, 
or  honourable  women  should  be  dishonoured.  But  should  not 
the  spiritual  and  temporal  powers  combine  to  find  some  means 
of  meeting  these  difficulties  without  any  such  heathen  practice  ? 
If  the  people  of  Israel  existed  without  this  scandal,  why  should 
not  a  Christian  nation  be  able  to  do  so?  How  do  so  many 
towns  and  villages  manage  to  exist  without  these  houses  ? 
Why  should  not  great  cities  be  able  to  do  so  ? 

In  all,  however,  that  I  have  said  above,  my  object  has  been 
to  show  how  much  good  temporal  authority  might  do,  and 
what  should  be  the  duty  of  all  authorities,  so  that  every  man 
might  learn  what  a  terrible  thing  it  is  to  rule  and  to  have  the 
chief  place.  What  boots  it  though  a  ruler  be  in  his  own 
person  as  holy  as  St.  Peter,  if  he  be  not  diligent  to  help  his 
subjects  in  these  matters  ?  His  very  authority  will  be  his 
condemnation  ;  for  it  is  the  duty  of  those  in  authority  to  seek 
the  good  of  their  subjects.  But  if  those  in  authority  con- 
sidered how  young  people  might  be  brought  together  in 
marriage,  the  prospect  of  marriage  would  help  every  man,  and 
protect  him  from  temptations. 

But  as  it  is,  every  man  is  urged  to  become  a  priest  or  a 
monk ;  and  of  all  these  I  am  afraid  not  one  in  a  hundred  has 
any  other  motive,  but  the  wish  of  getting  a  livelihood,  and 
the  uncertainty  of  maintaining  a  family.  Therefore  they 
begin  by  a  dissolute  life  and  sow  their  wild  oats  (as  they 
say),  but  I  fear  they  rather  gather  in  a  store  of  wild  oats.1 
I  hold  the  proverb  to  be  true :  "  Most  men  become  monks  and 

1  Luther  uses  the  expression  ausbuben  in  the  sense  of  sich  austoben,  viz., 
"  to  storm  out  one's  passions,"  and  then  coins  the  word  sich  einhubm,  viz.,  "  to 
storm  in  one's  passions." 


ADDRESS   TO   THE   NOBILITY  91 

priests  in  desperation."     That  is  why  things  are  as  we  see 
them. 

But  in  order  that  many  sins  may  be  prevented  that  are 
becoming  too  common,  I  would  honestly  advise  that  no  boy  or 
girl  be  allowed  to  take  the  vow  of  chastity,  or  to  enter  a 
religious  life,  before  the  age  of  thirty  years.  For  this  requires 
a  special  grace,  as  St.  Paul  says.  Therefore,  unless  God 
specially  urge  any  one  to  a  religious  life,  he  will  do  well  to 
leave  all  vows  and  devotions  alone.  I  say  further :  If  a  man 
has  so  little  faith  in  God  as  to  fear  that  he  will  be  unable 
to  maintain  himself  in  the  married  state,  and  if  this  fear  is  the 
only  thing  that  makes  him  become  a  priest,  then  I  implore 
him,  for  his  own  soul's  sake,  not  to  become  a  priest,  but 
rather  to  become  a  peasant,  or  what  he  will.  For  if  simple 
trust  in  God  be  necessary  to  ensure  temporal  support,  tenfold 
trust  in  God  is  necessary  to  live  a  religious  life.  If  you  do 
not  trust  to  God  for  your  worldly  food,  how  can  you  trust 
to  Him  for  your  spiritual  food  ?  Alas,  this  unbelief  and  want 
of  faith  destroys  all  things,  and  leads  us  into  all  misery,  as  we 
see  among  all  conditions  of  men. 

Much  might  bo  said  concerning  all  this  misery.  Young 
people  have  no  one  to  look  after  them,  they  are  left  to  go 
on  just  as  they  like,  and  those  in  authority  are  of  no  more  use 
to  them  than  if  they  did  not  exist ;  though  this  should  be  the 
chief  care  of  the  Pope,  of  Bishops,  Lords  and  Councils.  They 
wish  to  rule  over  everything,  everywhere,  and  yet  they  are 
of  no  use.  Oh,  what  a  rare  sight,  for  these  reasons,  will  a 
lord  or  ruler  be  in  Heaven,  though  he  might  build  a  hundred 
churches  to  God  and  raise  all  the  dead !  But  this  may  suffice 
for  the  present. 

For  of  what  concerns  the  temporal  authority  and  the  nobles, 
I  have,  I  think,  said  enough  in  my  tract  on  '  Good  Works.' 
For  their  lives  and  governments  leave  room  enough  for 
improvement ;  but  there  is  no  comparison  between  spiritual 
and  temporal  abuses,  as  I  have  there  shown.  I  dare  say  I  have 
sung  a  lofty  strain,  that  I  have  proposed  many  things  that  will 
be  thought  impossible,  and  attacked  many  points  too  sharply. 
But  what  was  I  to  do  ?  I  was  bound  to  say  this  :  if  I  had  the 
power,  this  is  what  I  would  do.  I  had  rather  incur  the  world's 
anger  than  God's ;  they  cannot  take  from  me  more  than  my 


92  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

life.  I  have  hitherto  made  many  offers  of  peace  to  my  adver- 
saries. But,  as  I  see,  God  has  forced  me  through  them  to 
open  my  mouth  wider  and  wider,  and,  because  they  do  not 
keep  quiet,  to  give  them  enough  cause  for  speaking,  harking, 
shouting  and  writing.  Well,  then,  I  have  another  song  still  to 
sing  concerning  them  and  Borne ;  if  they  wish  to  hear  it,  I  will 
sing  it  to  them,  and  sing  with  all  my  might.  Do  you  under- 
stand, my  friend  Koine,  what  I  mean  ? 

I  have  frequently  offered  to  submit  my  writings  for  inquiry 
and  examination,  but  in  vain ;  though  I  know,  if  I  am  in  the 
right,  I  must  be  condemned  upon  earth,  and  justified  by  Christ 
alone  in  Heaven.  For  all  the  Scriptures  teach  us,  that  the 
affairs  of  Christians  and  Christendom  must  be  judged  by  God 
alone  ;  they  have  never  yet  been  justified  by  men  in  this  world, 
but  the  opposition  has  always  been  too  strong.  My  greatest 
care  and  fear  is,  lest  my  cause  be  not  condemned  by  men ;  by 
which  I  should  know  for  certain  that  it  does  not  please  God. 
Therefore  let  them  go  freely  to  work,  Pope,  bishop,  priest, 
monk,  or  doctor ;  they  are  the  true  people  to  persecute  the 
truth,  as  they  have  always  done.  May  God  grant  us  all  a 
Christian  understanding,  and  especially  to  the  Christian  nobility 
of  the  German  nation  true  spiritual  courage,  to  do  what  is 
best  for  our  unhappy  Church.      Amen  ! 

At  Wittenberg,  in  the  year  1520. 


II. 
CONCERNING  CHRISTIAN  LIRERTY 


(     95     ) 


DEDICATORY 

LETTEE  OF  MAETIN  LUTHEE  TO  POPE  LEO  X. 

Among  those  monstrous  evils  of  this  age,  with  which  I  have 
dow  for  three  years  been  waging  war,  I  am  sometimes  compelled 
to  look  to  you  and  to  call  you  to  mind,  most  blessed  father 
Leo.  In  truth,  since  you  alone  are  everywhere  considered  as 
being  the  cause  of  my  engaging  in  war,  I  cannot  at  any  time 
fail  to  remember  you ;  and  although  I  have  been  compelled  by 
the  causeless  raging  of  your  impious  flatterers  against  me  to 
appeal  from  your  seat  to  a  future  council — fearless  of  the  futile 
decrees  of  your  predecessors  Pius  and  Julius,  who  in  their 
foolish  tyranny  prohibited  such  an  action — yet  I  have  never 
been  so  alienated  in  feeling  from  your  Blessedness  as  not  to 
have  sought  with  all  my  might,  in  diligent  prayer  and  crying 
to  God,  every  best  gift  for  you  and  for  your  See.  But  those 
who  have  hitherto  endeavoured  to  terrify  me  with  the  majesty 
of  your  name  and  authority,  I  have  begun  quite  to  despise  and 
triumph  over.  One  thing  I  see  remaining,  which  I  cannot 
despise,  and  this  has  been  the  reason  of  my  writing  anew  to 
your  Blessedness  ;  namely,  that  I  find  that  blame  is  cast  on  me, 
and  that  that  rashness,  in  which  I  am  judged  to  have  spared 
not  even  your  person,  is  imputed  to  me  as  a  great  offence. 

Now,  to  confess  the  truth  openly,  I  am  conscious  that, 
whenever  I  have  had  to  mention  your  person,  I  have  said  nothing 
of  you  but  what  was  honourable  and  good.  If  I  had  done 
otherwise,  I  could  by  no  means  have  approved  my  own  conduct, 
but  should  have  supported  with  all  my  power  the  judgment  of 
those  men  concerning  me ;  nor  would  anything  have  pleased 
me  better,  than  to  recant  such  rashness  and  impiety.  I  have 
called  you  Daniel  in  Babylon  ;  and  every  reader  thoroughly 
knows  with  what  distinguished  zeal  I  defended  your  conspicuous 
innocence  against  Silvester,  who  tried  to  stain  it.  Indeed  the 
published  opinion  of  so  many  great  men,  and  the  repute  of  your 


96  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

blameless  life,  are  too  widely  famed  and  too  much  reverenced 
throughout  the  world  to  be  assailable  by  any  man  of  however 
great  name,  or  by  any  arts.  I  am  not  so  foolish  as  to  attack 
one  whom  everybody  praises ;  nay,  it  has  been  and  always  will 
be  my  desire  not  to  attack  even  those  whom  public  repute 
disgraces.  I  am  not  delighted  at  the  faults  of  any  man,  since 
I  am  very  conscious  myself  of  the  great  beam  in  my  own  eye, 
nor  can  I  be  the  first  to  cast  a  stone  at  the  adulteress. 

I  have  indeed  inveighed  sharply  against  impious  doctrines, 
and  I  have  not  been  slack  to  censure  my  adversaries  on  account, 
not  of  their  bad  morals,  but  of  their  impiety.  And  for  this  I 
am  so  far  from  being  sorry,  that  I  have  brought  my  mind  to 
despise  the  judgments  of  men,  and  to  persevere  in  this  vehement 
zeal,  according  to  the  example  of  Christ,  who,  in  his  zeal,  calls 
his  adversaries  a  generation  of  vipers,  blind,  hypocrites,  and 
children  of  the  devil.  Paul  too  charges  the  sorcerer  with  being 
a  child  of  the  devil,  full  of  all  subtlety  and  all  malice ;  and 
defames  certain  persons  as  evil  workers,  dogs,  and  deceivers. 
In  the  opinion  of  those  delicate-eared  persons,  nothing  could 
be  more  bitter  or  intemperate  than  Paul's  language.  What 
can  be  more  bitter  than  the  words  of  the  prophets  ?  The  ears 
of  our  generation  have  been  made  so  delicate  by  the  senseless 
multitude  of  flatterers,  that,  as  soon  as  we  perceive  that  any- 
thing of  ours  is  not  approved  of,  we  cry  out  that  we  are  being 
bitterly  assailed ;  and  when  we  can  repel  the  truth  by  no  other 
pretence,  we  escape  by  attributing  bitterness,  impatience,  in- 
temperance, to  our  adversaries.  What  would  be  the  use  of 
salt,  if  it  were  not  pungent  ?  or  of  the  edge  of  the  sword,  if  it 
did  not  slay  ?  Accursed  is  the  man,  who  does  the  work  of  the 
Lord  deceitfully. 

Wherefore,  most  excellent  Leo,  I  beseech  you  to  accept  my 
vindication,  made  in  this  letter,  and  to  persuade  yourself  that  I 
have  never  thought  any  evil  concerning  your  person ;  further, 
that  I  am  one  who  desires  that  eternal  blessing  may  fall  to 
your  lot,  and  that  I  have  no  dispute  with  any  man  concerning 
morals,  but  only  concerning  the  word  of  truth.  In  all  other 
things  I  will  yield  to  any  one,  but  I  neither  can  nor  will 
forsake  and  deny  the  Word.  He  who  thinks  otherwise  of  me 
or  has  taken  in  my  words  in  another  sense,  does  not  think 
rightly,  and  has  not  taken  in  the  truth. 


•LETTER   TO   POPE   LEO   X  97 

Your  see,  however,  which  is  called  the  Court  of  Eome,  and 
which  neither  you  nor  any  man  can  deny  to  be  more  corrupt 
than  any  Babylon  or  Sodom,  and  quite,  as  I  believe,  of  a  lost, 
desperate,  and  hopeless  impiety,  this  I  have  verily  abominated, 
and  Lave  felt  indignant  that  the  people  of  Christ  should  be 
cheated  under  your  name  and  the  pretext  of  the  Church  of  Eome  ; 
and  so  I  have  resisted,  and  will  resist,  as  long  as  the  spirit  of 
faith  shall  live  in  me.  Not  that  I  am  striving  after  impossi- 
bilities, or  hoping  that  by  my  labours  alone,  against  the  furious 
opposition  of  so  many  flatterers,  any  good  can  be  done  in  that 
most  disordered  Babylon,  but  that  I  feel  myself  a  debtor  to  my 
brethren,  and  am  bound  to  take  thought  for  them,  that  fewer  of 
them  may  be  ruined,  or  that  their  ruin  may  be  less  complete,  by 
the  plagues  of  Eome.  For  many  years  now,  nothing  else  has 
overflowed  from  Eome  into  the  world — as  you  are  not  ignorant 
— than  the  laying  waste  of  goods,  of  bodies,  and  of  souls,  and 
the  worst  examples  of  all  the  worst  things.  These  things  are 
clearer  than  the  light  to  all  men  ;  and  the  Church  of  Eome, 
formerly  the  most  holy  of  all  churches,  has  become  the  most  law- 
less den  of  thieves,  the  most  shameless  of  all  brothels,  the  very 
kingdom  of  sin,  death,  and  hell ;  so  that  not  even  Antichrist, 
if  he  were  to  come,  could  devise  any  addition  to  its  wickedness. 

Meanwhile  you,  Leo,  are  sitting  like  a  lamb  in  the  midst  of 
wolves,  like  Daniel  in  the  midst  of  lions,  and,  with  Ezekiel,  you 
dwell  among  scorpions.  What  opposition  can  you  alone  make 
to  these  monstrous  evils  ?  Take  to  yourself  three  or  four  of 
the  most  learned  and  best  of  the  Cardinals.  What  are  these 
among  so  many  ?  You  would  all  perish  by  poison,  before  you 
could  undertake  to  decide  on  a  remedy.  It  is  all  over  with  the 
Court  of  Eome  ;  the  wrath  of  God  has  come  upon  her  to  the 
uttermost.  She  hates  councils,  she  dreads  to  be  reformed,  she 
cannot  restrain  the  madness  of  her  impiety,  she  fills  up  the 
sentence  passed  on  her  mother,  of  whom  it  is  said,  "  We  would 
have  healed  Babylon,  but  she  is  not  healed  ;  let  us  forsake  her." 
It  had  been  your  duty  and  that  of  your  Cardinals,  to  apply  a 
remedy  to  these  evils,  but  this  gout  laughs  at  the  physician's 
hand,  and  the  chariot  does  not  obey  the  reins.  Under  the 
influence  of  these  feelings  I  have  always  grieved  that  you, 
most  excellent  Leo,  who  were  worthy  of  a  better  age,  have  been 
made  Pontiff  in  this.     For  the  Eoman  Court  is  not  worthy  of 


98  LUTHER'S  PRIMARY   WORKS' 

you  and  those  like  you,  but  of  Satan  himself,  who  in  truth  is 
more  the  ruler  in  that  Babylon  than  you  are. 

0  would  that,  having  laid  aside  that  glory  which  your  most 
abandoned  enemies  declare  to  be  yours,  you  were  living  rather 
in  the  office  of  a  private  priest,  or  on  your  paternal  inheritance  ! 
In  that  glory  none  are  worthy  to  glory,  except  the  race  of 
Iscariot,  the  children  of  perdition.  For  what  happens  in  your 
court,  Leo,  except  that,  the  more  wicked  and  execrable  any  man 
is,  the  more  prosperously  he  can  use  your  name  and  authority 
for  the  ruin  of  the  property  and  souls  of  men,  for  the  multipli- 
cation of  crimes,  for  the  oppression  of  faith  and  truth,  and  of 
the  whole  Church  of  God  ?  0  Leo !  in  reality  most  unfortunate, 
and  sitting  on  a  most  perilous  throne — I  tell  you  the  truth, 
because  I  wish  you  well ;  for  if  Bernard  felt  compassion  for  his 
Anastasius  at  a  time  when  the  Koman  See,  though  even  then 
most  corrupt,  was  as  yet  ruling  with  better  hope  than  now,  why 
should  not  we  lament,  to  whom  so  much  additional  corruption 
and  ruin  has  happened  in  three  hundred  years  ? 

Is  it  not  true  that  there  is  nothing  under  the  vast  heavens 
more  corrupt,  more  pestilential,  more  hateful  than  the  Court  of 
Borne  ?  She  incomparably  surpasses  the  impiety  of  the  Turks, 
so  that  in  very  truth  she,  who  was  formerly  the  gate  of  heaven, 
is  now  a  sort  of  open  mouth  of  hell,  and  such  a  mouth  as,  under 
the  urgent  wrath  of  Grod,  cannot  be  blocked  up ;  one  course 
alone  being  left  to  us  wretched  men,  to  call  back  and  save  some 
few,  if  we  can,  from  that  Boman  gulf. 

Behold,  Leo  my  father, '  with  what  purpose  and  on  what 
principle  it  is  that  I  have  stormed  against  that  seat  of  pesti- 
lence. I  am  so  far  from  having  felt  any  rage  against  your 
person,  that  I  even  hoped  to  gain  favour  with  you,  and  to  aid 
in  your  welfare,  by  striking  actively  and  vigorously  at  that 
your  prison,  nay,  your  hell.  For  whatever  the  efforts  of  all 
intellects  can  contrive  against  the  confusion  of  that  impious 
Court  will  be  advantageous  to  you  and  to  your  welfare,  and  to 
many  others  with  you.  Those  who  do  harm  to  her  are  doing 
your  office ;  those  who  in  every  way  abhor  her  are  glorifying 
Christ ;  in  short,  those  are  Christians  who  are  not  Bomans. 

But,  to  say  yet  more,  even  this  never  entered  my  heart,  to 
inveigh  against  the  Court  of  Borne,  or  to  dispute  at  all  about 
her.     For,  seeing  all  remedies  for  her  health  to  be  desperate,  I 


LETTER   TO    POPE    LEO   X  90 

looked  on  her  with  contempt,  and,  giving  her  a  bill  of  divorce- 
ment, said  to  her,  "  He  that  is  unjust,  let  him  be  unjust  still ; 
and  he  that  is  filthy,  let  him  be  filthy  still; "  giving  myself  up 
to  the  peaceful  and  quiet  study  of  sacred  literature,  that  by 
this  I  might  be  of  use  to  the  brethren  living  about  me. 

While  I  was  making  some  advance  in  these  studies,  Satan 
opened  his  eyes  and  goaded  on  his  servant  John  Eccius,  that 
notorious  adversary  of  Christ,  by  the  unchecked  lust  for  fame, 
to  drag  me  unexpectedly  into  the  arena,  trying  to  catch  me  in 
one  little  word  concerning  the  primacy  of  the  Church  of  Rome, 
which  had  fallen  from  me  in  passing.  That  boastful  Thraso, 
foaming  and  gnashing  his  teeth,  proclaimed  that  he  would  dare 
all  things  for  the  glory  of  God,  and  for  the  honour  of  the  holy 
apostolic  seat ;  and,  being  puffed  up  respecting  your  power, 
which  he  was  about  to  misuse,  he  looked  forward  with  all 
certainty  to  victory ;  seeking  to  promote,  not  so  much  the 
primacy  of  Peter,  as  his  own  pre-eminence  among  the  theologians 
of  this  age ;  for  he  thought  it  would  contribute  in  no  slight 
degree  to  this,  if  he  were  to  lead  Luther  in  triumph.  The  result 
having  proved  unfortunate  for  the  sophist,  an  incredible  rage 
torments  him ;  for  he  feels  that  whatever  discredit  to  Eome 
has  arisen  through  me,  has  been  caused  by  the  fault  of  him- 
self alone. 

Suffer  me,  I  pray  you,  most  excellent  Leo,  both  to  plead  my 
own  cause,  and  to  accuse  your  true  enemies.  I  believe  it  is 
known  to  you  in  what  way  Cardinal  Cajetan,  your  imprudent  and 
unfortunate,  nay,  unfaithful  legate,  acted  towards  me.  When, 
on  account  of  my  reverence  for  your  name,  I  had  placed  myself 
and  all  that  was  mine  in  his  hands,  he  did  not  so  act  as  to 
establish  peace,  which  he  could  easily  have  established  by  one 
little  word,  since  I  at  that  time  promised  to  be  silent  and  to 
make  an  end  of  my  case,  if  he  would  command  my  adversaries 
to  do  the  same.  But  that  man  of  pride,  not  content  with  this 
agreement,  began  to  justify  my  adversaries,  to  give  them  free 
licence,  and  to  order  me  to  recant ;  a  thing  which  was  certainly 
not  in  his  commission.  Thus  indeed,  when  the  case  was  in  the 
best  position,  it  came  through  his  vexatious  tyranny  into  a 
much  worse  one.  Therefore,  whatever  has  followed  upon  this 
is  the  fault,  not  of  Luther,  but  entirely  of  Cajetan,  since  he 
did  not  suffer  me  to  be  silent  and  remain  quiet,  which  at  that 

H 


100  LTJTHEK'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

time  I  was  intreating  for  with  all  my  might.     What  more  was 
it  my  duty  to  do? 

Next  came  Charles  Miltitz,  also  a  nuncio  from  your  Blessed- 
ness. He,  though  he  went  up  and  down  with  much  and  varied 
exertion,  and  omitted  nothing  which  could  tend  to  restore  the 
position  of  the  cause,  thrown  into  confusion  by  the  rashness 
and  pride  of  Cajetan,  had  difficulty,  even  with  the  help  of  that 
very  illustrious  prince  the  Elector  Frederick,  in  at  last  bringing 
about  more  than  one  familiar  conference  with  me.  In  these 
I  again  yielded  to  your  great  name,  and  was  prepared  to  keep 
silence,  and  to  accept  as  my  judge  either  the  Archbishop  of 
Treves,  or  the  Bishop  of  Naumburg ;  and  thus  it  was  done  and 
concluded.  While  this  was  being  done  with  good  hope  of 
success,  lo  !  that  other  and  greater  enemy  of  yours,  Eccius, 
rushed  in  with  his  Leipsic  disputation,  which  he  had  under- 
taken against  Carlstadt,  and,  having  taken  up  a  new  question 
concerning  the  primacy  of  the  Pope,  turned  his  arms  unex- 
pectedly against  me,  and  completely  overthrew  the  plan  for 
peace.  Meanwhile  Charles  Miltitz  was  waiting,  disputations 
were  held,  judges  were  being  chosen,  but  no  decision  was 
arrived  at.  And  no  wonder  ;  for  by  the  falsehoods,  pretences, 
and  arts  of  Eccius  the  whole  business  was  brought  into  such 
thorough  disorder,  confusion,  and  festering  soreness,  that, 
whichever  way  the  sentence  might  lean,  a  greater  conflagration 
was  sure  to  arise ;  for  he  was  seeking,  not  after  truth,  but 
after  his  own  credit.  In  this  case  too  I  omitted  nothing 
which  it  was  right  that  I  should  do. 

I  confess  that,  on  this  occasion,  no  small  part  of  the  corrup- 
tions of  Eome  came  to  light ;  but,  if  there  was  any  offence  in 
this,  it  was  the  fault  of  Eccius,  who,  in  taking  on  him  a 
burden  beyond  his  strength,  and  in  furiously  aiming  at  credit 
for  himself,  unveiled  to  the  whole  world  the  disgrace  of  Borne. 

Here  is  that  ene,my  of  yours,  Leo,  or  rather  of  your  Court ; 
by  his  example  alone  we  may  learn  that  an  enemy  is  not  more 
baneful  than  a  flatterer.  For  what  did  he  bring  about  by  his 
flattery,  except  evils,  which  no  king  could  have  brought  about  ? 
At  this  day  the  name  of  the  Court  of  Borne  stinks  in  the  nostrils 
of  the  world,  the  papal  authority  is  growing  weak,  and  its 
notorious  ignorance  is  evil  spoken  of.  We  should  hear  none  of 
these  things,  if  Eccius  had  not  disturbed  the  plans  of  Miltitz 


LETTER   TO   POPE   LEO   X  101 

and  myself  for  peace.  He  feels  this  clearly  enough  himself,  in 
the  indignation  he  shows,  too  late  and  in  vain,  against  the 
publication  of  my  books.  He  ought  to  have  reflected  on  this 
at  the  time  when  he  was  all  mad  for  renown,  and  was  seeking 
in  your  cause  nothing  but  his  own  objects,  and  that  with  the 
greatest  peril  to  you.  The  foolish  man  hoped  that,  from  fear  of 
your  name,  I  should  yield  and  keep  silence  ;  for  I  do  not  think  he 
presumed  on  his  talents  and  learning.  Now,  when  he  sees  that 
I  am  very  confident  and  speak  aloud,  he  repents  too  late  of  his 
rashness,  and  sees — if  indeed  he  does  see  it — that  there  is  One  in 
Heaven  who  resists  the  proud,  and  humbles  the  presumptuous. 

Since,  then,  we  were  bringing  about  by  this  disputation 
nothing  but  the  greater  confusion  of  the  cause  of  Eome,  Charles 
Miltitz  for  the  third  time  addressed  the  Fathers  of  the  Order, 
assembled  in  chapter,  and  sought  their  advice  for  the  settlement 
of  the  case,  as  being  now  in  a  most  troubled  and  perilous  state. 
Since,  by  the  favour  of  God,  there  was  no  hope  of  proceeding 
against  me  by  force,  some  of  the  more  noted  of  their  number  were 
sent  tome,  and  begged  me  at  least  to  show  respect  to  your  person, 
and  to  vindicate  in  a  humble  letter  both  your  innocence  and 
my  own.  They  said  that  the  affair  was  not  as  yet  in  a  position 
of  extreme  hopelessness,  if  Leo  X.,  in  his  inborn  kindliness, 
would  put  his  hand  to  it.  On  this  I,  who  have  always  offered 
and  wished  for  peace,  in  order  that  I  might  devote  myself  to 
calmer  and  more  useful  pursuits,  and  who  for  this  very  purpose 
have  acted  with  so  much  spirit  and  vehemence,  in  order  to  put 
down  by  the  strength  and  impetuosity  of  my  words  as  well  as 
of  my  feelings,  men  whom  I  saw  to  be  very  far  from  equal  to 
myself — I,  I  say,  not  only  gladly  yielded,  but  even  accepted  it 
with  joy  and  gratitude,  as  the  greatest  kindness  and  benefit,  if 
you  should  think  it  right  to  satisfy  my  hopes. 

Thus  I  come,  most  blessed  Father,  and  in  all  abasement 
beseech  you  to  put  to  your  hand,  if  it  is  possible,  and  impose  a 
curb  upon  those  flatterers,  who  are  enemies  of  peace,  while 
they  pretend  peace.  But  there  is  no  reason,  most  blessed 
Father,  why  any  one  should  assume  that  I  am  to  utter  a 
recantation,  unless  he  prefers  to  involve  the  case  in  still 
greater  confusion.  Moreover,  I  cannot  bear  with  laws  for  the 
interpretation  of  the  Word  of  God,  since  the  Word  of  Godr 
which    teaches   liberty   in  all   other  things,    ought  not  to  be 

h  2 


102  LUTHER'S    PRIMARY   WORKS 

bound.  Saving  these  two  things,  there  is  nothing  which  I  am 
not  able,  and  most  heartily  willing,  to  do  or  to  suffer.  I  hate 
contention ;  I  will  challenge  no  one ;  in  return  I  wish  not  to 
be  challenged  ;  but,  being  challenged,  I  will  not  be  dumb  in 
the  cause  of  Christ  my  Master.  For  your  Blessedness  will  be 
able  by  one  short  and  easy  word  to  call  these  controversies 
before  you  and  suppress  them,  and  to  impose  silence  and  peace 
on  both  sides  ;  a  word  which  I  have  ever  longed  to  hear. 

Therefore,  Leo  my  Father,  beware  of  listening  to  those 
Sirens,  who  make  you  out  to  be  not  simply  a  man,  but  partly  a 
God,  so  that  you  can  command  and  require  whatever  you  will. 
It  will  not  happen  so,  nor  will  you  prevail.  You  are  the 
servant  of  servants,  and,  more  than  any  other  man,  in  a  most 
pitiable  and  perilous  position.  Let  not  those  men  deceive  you, 
who  pretend  that  you  are  Lord  of  the  world ;  who  will  not 
allow  any  one  to  be  a  Christian  without  your  authority ;  who 
babble  of  your  having  power  over  heaven,  hell,  and  purgatory. 
These  men  are  your  enemies  and  are  seeking  your  soul  to 
destroy  it,  as  Isaiah  says :  "  My  people,  they  that  call  thee 
blessed  are  themselves  deceiving  thee."  They  are  in  error,  who 
raise  you  above  councils  and  the  universal  Church.  They  are 
in  error,  who  attribute  to  you  alone  the  right  of  interpreting 
Scripture.  All  these  men  are  seeking  to  set  up  their  own 
impieties  in  the  Church  under  your  name,  and  alas !  Satan  has 
gained  much  through  them  in  the  time  of  your  predecessors. 

In  brief,  trust  not  in  any  who  exalt  you,  but  in  those  who 
humiliate  you.  For  this  is  the  judgment  of  God :  "  He  hath 
cast  down  the  mighty  from  their  seat,  and  hath  exalted  the 
humble."  See  how  unlike  Christ  was  to  His  successors,  though 
all  will  have  it  that  they  are  His  vicars.  I  fear  that  in  truth 
very  many  of  them  have  been  in  too  serious  a  sense  His  vicars, 
for  a  vicar  represents  a  prince  who  is  absent.  Now  if  a  Pontiff 
rules  while  Christ  is  absent  and  does  not  dwell  in  his  heart, 
what  else  is  he  but  a  vicar  of  Christ  ?  And  then  what  is  that 
Church  but  a  multitude  without  Christ  ?  What  indeed  is  such 
a  vicar  but  Antichrist  and  an  idol  ?  How  much  more  rightly 
did  the  Apostles  speak,  who  call  themselves  the  servants  of  a 
present  Christ,  not  the  vicars  of  an  absent  one. 

Perhaps  I  am  shamelessly  bold,  in  seeming  to  teach  so  great 
a  head,  by  whom  all  men  ought  to  be  taught,  and  from  whom, 


LETTER   TO   POPE    LEO   X  103 

as  those  plagues  of  yours  boast,  the  thrones  of  judges  receive 
their  sentence ;  but  I  imitate  Saint  Bernard  in  his  book 
concerning  "  Considerations  "  addressed  to  Eugenius,  a  book 
which  ought  to  be  known  by  heart  by  every  Pontiff.  I  do 
this,  not  from  any  desire  to  teach,  but  as  a  duty,  from  that 
simple  and  faithful  solicitude,  which  teaches  us  to  be 
anxious  for  all  that  is  safe  for  our  neighbours,  and  does  not 
allow  considerations  of  worthiness  or  unworthiness  to  be 
entertained,  being  intent  only  on  the  dangers  or  advantage  of 
others.  For  since  I  know  that  your  Blessedness  is  driven  and 
tossed  by  the  waves  at  Eome,  while  the  depths  of  the  sea  press 
on  you  with  infinite  perils,  and  that  you  are  labouring  under 
such  a  condition  of  misery  that  you  need  even  the  least  help  from 
any  the  least  brother,  I  do  not  seem  to  myself  to  be  acting 
unsuitably,  if  I  forget  your  majesty  till  I  shall  have  fulfilled  the 
office  of  charity.  I  will  not  flatter  in  so  serious  and  perilous  a 
matter ;  and  if  in  this  you  do  not  see  that  I  am  your  friend  and 
most  thoroughly  your  subject,  there  is  One  to  see  and  judge. 

In  fine,  that  I  may  not  approach  you  empty  handed,  Blessed 
Father,  I  bring  with  me  this  little  treatise,  published  under 
your  name,  as  a  good  omen  of  the  establishment  of  peace,  and 
of  good  hope.  By  this  you  may  perceive  in  what  pursuits  I 
should  prefer  and  be  able  to  occupy  myself  to  more  profit,  if 
I  were  allowed,  or  had  been  hitherto  allowed,  by  your  impious 
flatterers.  It  is  a  small  matter,  if  you  look  to  its  exterior, 
but,  unless  I  mistake,  it  is  a  summary  of  the  Christian  life  i 
put  together  in  small  compass,  if  you  apprehend  its  meaning. 
I,  in  my  poverty,  have  no  other  present  to  make  you ;  nor  do  you 
need  anything  else  than  to  be  enriched  by  a  spiritual  gift.  I 
commend  myself  to  your  Paternity  and  Blessedness,  whom  may 
the  Lord  Jesus  preserve  for  ever.     Amen. 

Wittenberg  ;  6th  September,  1520. 


104  LUTHER'S    PRIMARY   WORKS 


CONCERNING  CHRISTIAN  LIBERTY 

Christian  faith  has  appeared  to  many  an  easy  thing ;  nay, 
not  a  few  even  reckon  it  among  the  social  virtues,  as  it  were ; 
and  this  they  do,  because  they  have  not  made  proof  of  it 
experimentally,  and  have  never  tasted  of  what  efficacy  it  is. 
For  it  is  not  possible  for  any  man  to  write  well  about  it,  or  to 
understand  well  what  is  rightly  written,  who  has  not  at  some 
time  tasted  of  its  spirit,  under  the  pressure  of  tribulation. 
While  he  who  has  tasted  of  it,  even  to  a  very  small  extent,  can 
never  write,  speak,  think,  or  hear  about  it  sufficiently.  For  it 
is  a  living  fountain,  springing  up  unto  eternal  life,  as  Christ 
calls  it  in  the  4th  chapter  of  St.  John. 

Now,  though  I  cannot  boast  of  my  abundance,  and  though  I 
know  how  poorly  I  am  furnished,  yet  I  hope  that,  after  having 
been  vexed  by  various  temptations,  I  have  attained  some  little 
drop  of  faith,  and  that  I  can  speak  of  this  matter,  if  not  with 
more  elegance,  certainly  with  more  solidity  than  those  literal 
and  too  subtle  disputants  who  have  hitherto  discoursed  upon 
it,  without  understanding  their  own  words.  That  I  may  open, 
then,  an  easier  way  for  the  ignorant — for  these  alone  I  am 
trying  to  serve  —  I  first  lay  down  these  two  propositions, 
concerning  spiritual  liberty  and  servitude. 

A  Christian  man  is  the  most  free  lord  of  all,  and  subject  to 
none ;  a  Christian  man  is  the  most  dutiful  servant  of  all,  and 
subject  to  every  one. 

Although  these  statements  appear  contradictory,  yet,  when 
they  are  found  to  agree  together,  they  will  be  highly  ser- 
viceable to  my  purpose.  They  are  both  the  statements  of 
Paul  himself,  who  says :  "  Though  I  be  free  from  all  men,  yet 
have  I  made  myself  servant  unto  all  "  (1  Cor.  ix.  19),  and  :  "  Owe 
no  man  anything,  but  to  love  one  another."  (Rom.  xiii.  8.)  Now 
love  is  by  its  own  nature  dutiful  and  obedient  to  the  beloved 
object.  Thus  even  Christ,  though  Lord  of  all  things,  was  yet 
made  of  a  woman ;  made  under  -  the  law  ;  at  once  free  and  a 


ON   CHRISTIAN    LIBERTY  105 

servant ;  at  once  in  the  form  of  God  and  in  the  form   of  a 
servant. 

Let  us  examine  the  subject  on  a  deeper  and  less  simple 
principle.  Man  is  composed  of  a  twofold  nature,  a  spiritual 
and  a  bodily.  As  regards  the  spiritual  nature,  which  they 
name  the  soul,  he  is  called  the  spiritual,  inward,  new  man  ;  as 
regards  the  bodily  nature,  which  they  name  the  flesh,  he  is 
called  the  fleshly,  outward,  old  man.  The  Apostle  speaks  of 
this  :  "  Though  our  outward  man  perish,  yet  the  inward  man  is 
renewed  day  by  day."  (2  Cor.  iv.  16.)  The  result  of  this  diver- 
sity is,  that  in  the  Scriptures  opposing  statements  are  made 
concerning. the  same  man ;  the  fact  being  that  in  the  same  man 
these  two  men  are  opposed  to  one  another  ;  the  flesh  lusting 
against  the  spirit,  and  the  spirit  against  the  flesh.  (Gal.  v.  17.) 

We  first  approach  the  subject  of  the  inward  man,  that  we 
may  see  by  what  means  a  man  becomes  justified,  free,  and  a 
true  Christian ;  that  is,  a  spiritual,  new,  and  inward  man.  It, 
is  certain  that  absolutely  none  among  outward  things,  under 
whatever  name  they  may  be  reckoned,  has  any  weight  in 
producing  a  state  of  justification  and  Christian  liberty,  nor,  on 
the  other  hand,  an  unjustified  state  and  one  of  slavery.  This 
can  be  shown  by  an  easy  course  of  argument. 

What  can  it  profit  the  soul,  that  the  body  should  be  in  good 
condition,  free,  and  full  of  life ;  that  it  should  eat,  drink,  and 
act  according  to  its  pleasure ;  when  even  the  most  impious 
slaves  of  every  kind  of  vice  are  prosperous  in  these  matters  ? 
Again,  what  harm  can  ill-health,  bondage,  hunger,  thirst,  or 
any  other  outward  evil,  do  to  the  soul,  when  even  the  most 
pious  of  men,  and  the  freest  in  the  purity  of  their  conscience, 
are  harassed  by  these  things  ?  Neither  of  these  states  of 
things  has  to  do  with  the  liberty  or  the  slavery  of  the  soul. 

And  so  it  will  profit  nothing  that  the  body  should  be 
adorned  with  sacred  vestments,  or  dwell  in  holy  places,  or  be 
occupied  in  sacred  offices,  or  pray,  fast,  and  abstain  from 
certain  meats,  or  do  whatever  works  can  be  done  through  the 
body  and  in  the  body.  Something  widely  different  will  be 
necessary  for  the  justification  and  liberty  of  the  soul,  since  the 
things  I  have  spoken  of  can  be  done  by  any  impious  person, 
and  only  hypocrites  are  produced  by  devotion  to  these  things. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  will  not  at  all  injure  the  soul  that  the 


106  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

body  should  be  clothed  in  profane  raiment,  should  dwell  in 
profane  places,  should  eat  and  drink  in  the  ordinary  fashion, 
should  not  pray  aloud,  and  should  leave  undone  all  the  things 
abovementioned,  which  may  be  done  by  hypocrites. 

And,  to  cast  everything  aside,  even  speculations,  meditations, 
and  whatever  things  can  be  performed  by  the  exertions  of  the 
soul  itself,  are  of  no  profit.  One  thing,  and  one  alone,  is 
necessary  for  life,  justification,  and  Christian  liberty  ;  and  that 
is  the  most  holy  word  of  God,  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  as  He  says  : 
"  I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life ;  he  that  believeth  in  me 
shall  not  die  eternally  "  (John  xi.  25)  ;  and  also  (John  viii.  36) 
"  If  the  Son  shall  make  you  free,  ye  shall  be  free  indeed ;. "  and 
(Matt.  iv.  4),  "  Man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone,  but  by  every 
word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God." 

Let  us  therefore  hold  it  for  certain  and  firmly  established, 
that  the  soul  can  do  without  everything,  except  the  word  of 
God,  without  which  none  at  all  of  its  wants  are  provided  for. 
But,  having  the  word,  it  is  rich  and  wants  for  nothing ;  since 
that  is  the  word  of  life,  of  truth,  of  light,  of  peace,  of  justifica- 
tion, of  salvation,  of  joy,  of  liberty,  of  wisdom,  of  virtue,  (if 
grace,  of  glory,  and  of  every  good  thing.  It  is  on  this  account 
that  the  prophet  in  a  whole  psalm  (Ps.  cxix.),  and  in  many 
other  places,  sighs  for  and  calls  upon  the  word  of  God  with  so 
many  groanings  and  words. 

Again,  there  is  no  more  cruel  stroke  of  the  wrath  of  God 
than  when  He  sends  a  famine  of  hearing  His  words  (Amos 
viii.  11) ;  just  as  there  is  no  greater  favour  from  Him  than  the 
sending  forth  of  His  word,  as  it  is  said  :  "  He  sent  his  word 
and  healed  them,  and  delivered  them  from  their  destructions." 
(Ps.  cvii.  20.)  Christ  was  sent  for  no  other  office  than  that  of 
the  word,  and  the  order  of  apostles,  that  of  bishops,  and  that 
of  the  whole  body  of  the  clergy,  have  been  called  and  instituted 
for  no  object  but  the  ministry  of  the  word. 

But  you  will  ask  : — "  What  is  this  word,  and  by  what  means 
is  it  to  be  used,  since  there  are  so  many  words  of  God  ?  "  I 
answer,  the  Apostle  Paul  (Bom.  i.)  explains  what  it  is,  namely, 
the  Gospel  of  God,  concerning  His  Son,  incarnate,  suffering, 
risen,  and  glorified  through  the  Spirit,  the  sanctifier.  To 
\s  preach  Christ  is  to  feed  the  soul,  to  justify  it,  to  set  it  free, 
and  to  save  it,  if  it  believes  the  preaching.     For  faith  alone, 


ON   CHRISTIAN   LIBERTY  107 

and  the  efficacious  use  of  the  word  of  God,  bring  salvation. 
"  If  thou  shalt  confess  with  thy  mouth  the  Lore]  Jesus,  and 
shalt  believe  in  thine  heart  that  God  hath  raised  hiin  from  the 
dead,  thou  shalt  be  saved."  (Rom.  x.  9.)  And  again :  "  Christ 
is  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  every  one  that 
believeth  "  (Eom.  x.  4)  ;  and  "  The  just  shall  live  by  faith." 
(Eom.  i.  17.)  For  the  word  of  God  cannot  be  received  and 
honoured  by  any  works,  but  by  faith  alone.  Hence  it  is  clear 
that,  as  the  soul  needs  the  word  alone  for  life  and  justification, 
so  it  is  justified  by  faith  alone  and  not  by  any  works.  For  if 
it  could  be  justified  by  any  other  means,  it  would  have  no  need 
of  the  word,  nor  consequently  of  faith. 

But  this  faith  cannot  consist  at  all  with  works ;  that  is,  if 
you  imagine  that  you  can  be  justified  by  those  works,  whatever 
they  are,  along  with  it.  For  this  would  be  to  halt  between 
two  opinions,  to  worship  Baal,  and  to  kiss  the  hand  to  him, 
which  is  a  very  great  iniquity,  as  Job  says.  Therefore,  when 
you  begin  to  believe,  you  learn  at  the  same  time  that  all  that 
is  in  you  is  utterly  guilty,  sinful,  and  damnable ;  according  to 
that  saying :  "  All  have  sinned,  and  come  short  of  the  glory 
of  God."  (Eom.  iii.  23.)  And  also  :  "  There  is  none  righteous, 
no,  not  one ;  they  are  all  gone  out  of  the  way ;  they  are 
together  become  unprofitable  ;  there  is  none  that  doeth  good, 
no,  not  one."  (Eom.  iii.  10-12.)  When  you  have  learnt  this, 
you  will  know  that  Christ  is  necessary  for  you,  since  He  has 
suffered  and  risen  again  for  you,  that,  believing  on  Him,  you 
might  by  this  faith  become  another  man,  all  your  sins  being 
remitted,  and  you  being  justified  by  the  merits  of  another, 
namely,  of  Christ  alone. 

Since  then  this  faith  can  reign  only  in  the  inward  man,  as  it 
is  said :  "  With  the  heart  man  believeth  unto  righteousness  " 
(Eom.  x.  10) ;  and  since  it  alone  justifies,  it  is  evident  that  by 
no  outward  work  or  labour  can  the  inward  man  be  at  all 
justified,  made  free,  and  saved;  and  that  no  works  whatever 
have  any  relation  to  him.  And  so,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is 
solely  by  impiety  and  incredulity  of  heart  that  he  becomes 
guilty,  and  a  slave  of  sin,  deserving  condemnation ;  not  by  any 
outward  sin  or  work.  Therefore  the  first  care  of  every 
Christian  ought  to  be,  to  lay  aside  all  reliance  on  works,  and 
strengthen  his  faith  alone  more  and  more,  and  by  it  grow  in 


108  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

the  knowledge,  not  of  works,  but  of  Christ  Jesus,  who  has 
suffered  and  risen  again  for  him ;  as  Peter  teaches,  when  he 
makes  no  other  work  to  be  a  Christian  one.  Thus  Christ,  when 
the  Jews  asked  Him  what  they  should  do  that  they  might 
work  the  works  of  (rod,  rejected  the  multitude  of  works,  with 
which  He  saw  that  they  were  puffed  up,  and  commanded  them 
one  thing  only,  saying :  "  This  is  the  work  of  God,  that  ye 
believe  on  him  whom  He  hath  sent,  for  him  hath  God  the 
Father  sealed."  (John  vi.  27,  29.) 

Hence  a  right  faith  in  Christ  is  an  incomparable  treasure, 
carrying  with  it  universal  salvation,  and  preserving  from  all 
evil,  as  it  is  said  :  "  He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be 
saved ;  but  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned."  (Mark  xvi. 
16.)  Isaiah,  looking  to  this  treasure,  predicted:  "The  con- 
sumption decreed  shall  overflow  with  righteousness.  For  the 
Lord  God  of  hosts  shall  make  a  consumption,  even  determined, 
in  the  midst  of  the  land."  (Is.  x.  22,  23.)  As  if  he  said: — 
"  Faith,  which  is  the  brief  and  complete  fulfilling  of  the  law,  will 
fill  those  who  believe  with  such  righteousness,  that  they  will 
need  nothing  else  for  justification."  Thus  too  Paul  says  :  "  For 
with  the  heart  man  believeth  unto  righteousness-."    (Rom.  x.  10.) 

But  you  ask  how  it  can  be  the  fact  that  faith  alone  justifies,  and 
affords  without  works  so  great  a  treasure  of  good  things,  when 
so  many  works,  ceremonies,  and  laws  are  prescribed  to  us  in 
the  Scriptures.  I  answer  :  before  all  things  bear  in  mind  what 
I  have  said,  that  faith  alone  without  works  justifies,  sets  free, 
and  saves,  as  I  shall  show  more  clearly  below. 

Meanwhile  it  is  to  be  noted,  that  the  whole  Scripture  of  God 
is  divided  into  two  parts,  precepts  and  promises.  The  precepts 
certainly  teach  us  what  is  good,  but  whalrthey  teach  is  not 
forthwith  done.  For  they  show  us  what  we  ought  to  do,  but 
do  not  give  us  the  power  to  do  it.  They  were  ordained, 
however,  for  the  purpose  of  showing  man  to  himself;  that 
through  them  he  may  learn  his  own  impotence  for  good,  and 
may  despair  of  his  own  strength.  For  this  reason  they  are 
called  the  Old  Testament,  and  are  so. 

For  example:  "  thou  shalt  not  covet,"  is  a  precept  by  which 
we  are  all  convicted  of  sin  ;  since  no  man  can  help  coveting, 
whatever  efforts  to  the  contrary  he  may  make.  In  order 
therefore  that  he  may  fulfil  the  precept,  and  not  covet,  he  is 


ON   CHRISTIAN   LIBERTY  109 

constrained  to  despair  of  himself,  and  to  seek  elsewhere  and 
through  another  the  help  which  he  cannot  find  in  himself;  as 
it  is  said  :  "  0  Israel,  thou  hast  destroyed  thyself ;  but  in  me  is 
thine  help."  (Hosea  xiii.  9.)  Now  what  is  done  by  this  one 
precept,  is  done  by  all ;  for  all  are  equally  impossible  of  fulfil- 
ment by  us. 

Now  when  a  man  has  through  the  precepts  been  taught  his 
own  impotence,  and  become  anxious  by  what  means  he  may 
satisfy  the  law — for  the  law  must  be  satisfied,  so  that  no  jot  or 
tittle  of  it  may  pass  away ;  otherwise  he  must  be  hopelessly 
condemned — then,  being  truly  humbled  and  brought  to  nothing 
in  his  own  eyes,  he  finds  in  himself  no  resource  for  justification 
and  salvation. 

Then  comes  in  that  other  part  of  Scripture,  the  promises  of 
God,  which  declare  the  glory  of  God,  and  say :  "  If  you  wish  to 
fulfil  the  law,  and,  as  the  law  requires,  not  to  covet,  lo !  believe 
in  Christ,  in  whom  are  promised  to  you  grace,  justification, 
peace,  and  liberty."  All  these  things  you  shall  have,  if  you 
believe,  and  shall  be  without  them,  if  you  do  not  believe.  For 
what  is  impossible  for  you  by  all  the  works  of  the  law,  which 
are  many  and  yet  useless,  you  shall  fulfil  in  an  easy  and 
summary  way  through  faith  ;  because  God  the  Father  has  made 
everything  to  depend  on  faith,  so  that  whosoever  has  it,  has 
all  things,  and  he  who  has  it  not,  has  nothing.  "  For  God  hath 
concluded  them  all  in  unbelief,  that  He  might  have  mercy  upon 
all."  (Kom.  xi.  32.)  Thus  the  promises  of  God  give  that 
which  the  precepts  exact,  and  fulfil  what  the  law  commands ; 
so  that  all  is  of  God  alone,  both  the  precepts  and  their  fulfil- 
ment. He  alone  commands.  He  alone  also  fulfils.  Hence  the 
promises  of  God  belong  to  the  New  Testament ;  nay,  are  the 
New  Testament. 

Now  since  these  promises  of  God  are  words  of  holiness,  truth, 
righteousness,  liberty,  and  peace,  and  are  full  of  universal 
goodness ;  the  soul,  which  cleaves  to  them  with  a  firm  faith,  is 
so  united  to  them,  nay,  thoroughly  absorbed  by  them,  that  it 
not  only  partakes  in,  but  is  penetrated  and  saturated  by,  all 
their  virtue.  For  if  the  touch  of  Christ  was  healing,  how  much 
more  does  that  most  tender  spiritual  touch,  nay,  absorption  of 
the  word,  communicate  to  the  soul  all  that  belongs  to  the 
word.     In  this  way,  therefore,  the  soul,  through  faith  alone, 


110  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

without  works,  is  from  the  word  of  God  justified,  sanctified, 

endued  with  truth,  peace,  and  liberty,  and  filled  full  with  every 

good  thing,  and  is  truly  made  the  child  of  God ;  as  it  is  said : 

"  To  them  gave  he  power  to  become  the  sons  of  God,  even  to 

them  that  believe  on  his  name."  (John  i.  12.)  ■ 

From  all  this  it  is  easy  to  understand  why  faith  has  such 

great  power,  and  why  no  good  works,  nor  even  all  good  works 

put  together,  can  compare  with  it ;  since  no  work  can  cleave 

to  the  word  of  God,  or  be  in  the  soul.     Faith  alone  and  the 

word  reign  in  it ;  and  such  as  is  the  word,  such  is  the  soul 

made  by  it ;  just  as  iron  exposed/  to  fire  glows  like  fire,  on 

account  of  its  union  with  the  fire/    It  is  clear  then  that  to  a 

Christian  man  his  faith  suffices  for  everything,  and  that  he  has 

no  need  of  works  for  justification.     But  if  he  has  no  need  of 

works,  neither  has  he  need  of  the  law  ;  and,  if  he  has  no  need  of 

the  law,  he  is  certainly  free  from  the  law,  and  the  saying  is 

true  :  "The  law  is  not  made  for  a  righteous  man."    (1  Tim.  i.  9.) 

This  is  that  Christian  liberty,  our  faith,  the  effect  of  which  is, 

<-not  that  we  should  be  careless  or  lead  a  bad  life,  but  that  no 
(j  .... 

one  should  need  the  law  or  works  for  justification  and  salvation. 

Let  us  consider  this  as  the  first  virtue  of  faith ;  and  let  us 
look  also  to  the  second.  This  also  is  an  office  of  faith,  that  it 
honours  with  the  utmost  veneration  and  the  highest  reputa- 
tion him  in  whom  it  believes,  inasmuch  as  it  holds  him  to  be 
truthful  and  worthy  of  belief.  For  there  is  no  honour  like 
that  reputation  of  truth  and  righteousness,  with  which  we 
honour  him,  in  whom  we  believe.  What  higher  credit  can  we 
attribute  to  any  one  than  truth  and  righteousness,  and  absolute 
goodness  ?  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  the  greatest  insult  to 
brand  any  one  with  the  reputation  of  falsehood  and  unright- 
eousness, or  to  suspect  him  of  these,  as  we  do  when  we 
disbelieve  him. 

Thus  the  soul,  in  firmly  believing  the  promises  of  God,  holds 
Him  to  be  true  and  righteous  ;  and  it  can  attribute  to  God  no 
higher  glory  than  the  credit  of  being  so.  The  highest  worship 
of  God  is  to  ascribe  to  Him  truth,  righteousness,  and  whatever 
qualities  we  must  ascribe  to  one  in  whom  we  believe.  In 
doing  this  the  soul  shows  itself  prepared  to  do  His  whole  will ; 
in  doing  this  it  hallows  His  name,  and  gives  itself  up  to  be 
dealt   with   as   it   may  please   God.     For  it   cleaves   to   His 


ON   CHRISTIAN    LIBERTY  111 

promises,  and  never  doubts  that  He  is  true,  just,  and  wise,  and 
will  do,  dispose,  and  provide  for  all  things  in  the  best  way.  Is 
not  such  a  soul,  in  this  its  faith,  most  obedient  to  God  in  all 
things  ?  What  commandment  does  there  remain  which  has 
not  been  amply  fulfilled  by  such  an  obedience  ?  What  fulfil- 
ment can  be  more  full  than  universal  obedience  ?  Now  this  is 
not  accomplished  by  works,  but  by  faith  alone. 

On  the  other  hand,  what  greater  rebellion,  impiety,  or  insult 
to  God  can  there  be,  than  not  to  believe  His  promises  ?  What 
else  is  this,  than  either  to  make  God  a  liar,  or  to  doubt  His 
truth — that  is,  to  attribute  truth  to  ourselves,  but  to  God 
falsehood  and  levity  ?  In  doing  this,  is  not  a  man  denying 
God  and  setting  himself  up  as  an  idol  in  his  own  heart  ? 
What  then  can  works,  done  in  such  a  state  of  impiety,  profit  us, 
were  they  even  angelic  t)r-  apostolic  works  ?  Kightly  hath 
God  shut  up  all — not  in  wrath  nor  in  lust — but  in  unbelief;  in 
order  that  those  who  pretend  that  they  are  fulfilling  the  law 
by  works  of  purity  and  benevolence  (which  are  social  and  human 
virtues),  may  not  presume  that  they  will  therefore  be  saved  ; 
but,  being  included  in  the  sin  of  unbelief,  may  either  seek 
mercy,  or  be  justly  condemned. 

But  when  God  sees  that  truth  is  ascribed  to  Him,  and  that 
in  the  faith  of  our  hearts  He  is  honoured  with  all  the  honour  , 
of  which  He  is  worthy ;  then  in  return  He  honours  us  on 
account  of  that  faith  ;  attributing  to  us  truth  and  righteousness. 
For  faith  produces  truth  and  righteousness,  in  rendering  to 
God  what  is  His ;  and  therefore  in  return  God  gives  glory  to 
our  righteousness.  It  is  a  true  and  righteous  thing,  that  God 
is  true  and  righteous ;  and  to  confess  this,  and  ascribe  these 
attributes  to  Him,  is  to  be  ourselves  true  and  righteous.  Thus 
He  says  :  "  Them  that  honour  me  I  will  honour,  and  they  that 
despise  me  shall  be  lightly  esteemed."  (1  Sam.  ii.  30.)  And 
so  Paul  says  that  Abraham's  faith  was  imputed  to  him  for 
righteousness,  because  by  it  he  gave  glory  to  God  ;  and  that  to 
us  also,  for  the  same  reason,  it  shall  be  reputed  for  righteous- 
ness, if  we  believe.  (Kom.  iv.) 

The  third  incomparable  grace  of  faith  is  this,  that  it  unites  ~] 
the  soul   to  Christ,  as    the   wife  to  the  husband ;   by  which 
mystery,  as  the  Apostle  teaches,  Christ  and  the  soul  are  made 
one  flesh.     Now  if  they  are  one  flesh,  and  if  a  true  marriage — 


112  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

nay,  by  far  the  most  perfect  of  all  marriages — is  accomplished 
between  them  (for  human  marriages  are  but  feeble  types  of 
this  one  great  marriage),  then  it  follows  that  all  they  have 
becomes  theirs  in  common,  as  well  good  things  as  evil  things ; 
so  that  whatsoever  Christ  possesses,  that  the  believing  soul 
may  take  to  itself  and  boast  of  as  its  own,  and  whatever 
belongs  to  the  soul,  that  Christ  claims  as  his. 

If  we  compare  these  possessions,  we  shall  see  how  inestimable 
is  the  gain.  Christ  is  full  of  grace,  life,  and  salvation ;  the 
soul  is  full  of  sin,  death,  and  condemnation.  Let  faith  step  in, 
and  then  sin,  death,  and  hell  will  belong  to  Christ,  and  grace, 
life,  and  salvation  to  the  soul.  For,  if  he  is  a  husband,  he 
must  needs  take  to  himself  that  which  is  his  wife's,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  impart  to  his  wife  that  which  is  his.  For,  in 
giving  her  his  own  body  and  himself,  how  can  he  but  give  her 
all  that  is  his  ?  And,  in  taking  to  himself  the  body  of  his  wife, 
how  can  he  but  take  to  himself  all  that  is  hers  ? 

In  this  is  displayed  the  delightful  sight,  not  only  of  com- 
munion, but  of  a  prosperous  warfare,  of  victory,  salvation,  and 
redemption.  For  since  Christ  is  God  and  man,  and  is  such  a 
person  as  neither  has  sinned,  nor  dies,  nor  is  condemned, — nay, 
cannot  sin,  die,  or  be  condemned ;  and  since  his  righteousness, 
life,  and  salvation  are  invincible,  eternal,  and  almighty  ;  when, 
I  say,  such  a  person,  by  the  wedding-ring  of  faith,  takes  a 
share  in  the  sins,  death,  and  hell  of  his  wife,  nay,  makes  them 
his  own,  and  deals  with  them  no  otherwise  than  as  if  they  were 
his,  and  as  if  he  himself  had  sinned  ;  and  when  he  suffers,  dies, 
and  descends  to  hell,  that  he  may  overcome  all  things,  since 
sin,  death,  and  hell  cannot  swallow  him  up,  they  must  needs 
be  swallowed  up  by  him  in  stupendous  conflict.  For  his 
righteousness  rises  above  the  sins  of  all  men  ;  his  life  is  more 
powerful  than  all  death ;  his  salvation  is  more  unconquerable 
than  all  hell. 

Thus  the  believing  soul,  by  the  pledge  of  its  faith  in  Christ, 
becomes  free  from  all  sin,  fearless  of  death,  safe  from  hell,  and 
endowed  with  the  eternal  righteousness,  life,  and  salvation  of 
its  husband  Christ.  Thus  he  presents  to  himself  a  glorious 
bride,  without  spot  or  wrinkle,  cleansing  her  with  the  washing 
of  water  by  the  word ;  that  is,  by  faith  in  the  word  of  life, 
righteousness,  and   salvation.      Thus   he   betrothes    her   unto 


ON   CHRISTIAN   LIBERTY  113 

himself  "  in  faithfulness,  in  righteousness,  and  in  judgment, 
and  in  lovingkindness,  and  in  mercies."  (Hosea  ii.  19,  20.) 

Who  then  can  value  highly  enough  these  royal  nuptials  ? 
Who  can  comprehend  the  riches  of  the  glory  of  this  grace  ? 
Christ,  that  rich  and  pious  husband,  takes  as  a  wife  a  needy  and 
impious  harlot,  redeeming  her  from  all  her  evils,  and  supplying 
her  with  all  His  good  things.  It  is  impossible  now  that  her 
sins  should  destroy  her,  since  they  have  been  laid  upon  Christ 
and  swallowed  up  in  Him,  and  since  she  has  in  her  husband 
Christ  a  righteousness  which  she  may  claim  as  her  own,  and 
which  she  can  set  up  with  confidence  against  all  her  sins, 
against  death  and  hell,  saying :  "  If  I  have  sinned,  my  Christ, 
in  whom  I  believe,  has  not  sinned  ;  all  mine  is  His,  and  all  His 
is  mine ; "  as  it  is  written,  "  My  beloved  is  mine,  and  I  am 
his.  (Cant.  ii.  16.)  This  is  what  Paul  says  :"  Thanks  be  to  God, 
which  giveth  us  the  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  " 
victory  over  sin  and  death,  as  he  says  :  "  The  sting  of  death  is 
sin,  and  the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law."  (1  Cor.  xv.  56,  57.) 

From  all  this  you  will  again  understand,  why  so  much 
importance  is  attributed  to  faith,  so  that  it  alone  can  fulfil  the 
law,  and  justify  without  any  works.  For  you  see  that  the  first 
commandment,  which  says,  "  Thou  shalt  worship  one  God 
only,"  is  fulfilled  by  faith  alone.  If  you  were  nothing  but 
good  works  from  the  soles  of  your  feet  to  the  crown  of  your 
head,  you  would  not  be  worshipping  God,  nor  fulfilling  the 
first  commandment,  since  it  is  impossible  to  worship  God, 
without  ascribing  to  Him  the  glory  of  truth  and  of  universal 
goodness,  as  it  ought  in  truth  to  be  ascribed.  Now  this  is  not 
done  by  works,  but  only  by  faith  of  heart.  It  is  not  by 
working,  but  by  believing,  that  we  glorify  God,  and  confess 
Him  to  be  true.  On  this  ground  faith  is  the  sole  righteous- 
ness of  a  Christian  man,  and  the  fulfilling  of  all  the  command- 
ments. For  to  him  who  fulfils  the  first,  the  task  of  fulfilling 
all  the  rest  is  easy. 

Works,  since  they  are  irrational  things,  cannot  glorify  God ;  ^ 
although  they  may  be  done  to  the  glory  of  God,  if  faith  be 
present.  But  at  present  we  are  enquiring,  not  into  the  quality 
of  the  works  done,  but  into  him  who  does  them,  who  glorifies 
God,  and  brings  forth  good  works.  This  is  faith  of  heart,  the 
head  and  the  substance  of  all  our  righteousness.     Hence  that  is 


114  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

a  blind  and  perilous  doctrine  which  teaches  that  the  command- 
ments are  fulfilled  by  works.  The  commandments  must  have 
been  fulfilled,  previous  to  any  good  works,  and  good  works 
follow  their  fulfilment,  as  we  shall  see. 

But,  that  we  may  have  a  wider  view  of  that  grace  which  our 
inner  man  has  in  Christ,  we  must  know  that  in  the  Old 
Testament  God  sanctified  to  Himself  every  first-born  male. 
The  birthright  was  of  great  value,  giving  a  superiority  over 
the  rest  by  the  double  honour  of  priesthood  and  kingship.  For 
the  first-born  brother  was  priest  and  lord  of  all  the  rest. 

Under  this  figure  was  foreshown  Christ,  the  true  and  only 
first-born  of  God  the  Father  and  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  a  true 
king  and  priest,  not  in  a  fleshly  and  earthly  sense.  For  His 
kingdom  is  not  of  this  world ;  it  is  in  heavenly  and  spiritual 
things  that  He  reigns  and  acts  as  priest ;  and  these  are 
righteousness,  truth,  wisdom,  peace,  salvation,  &c.  Not  but  that 
all  things,  even  those  of  earth  and  hell,  are  subject  to  Him — 
for  otherwise  how  could  He  defend  and  save  us  from  them  ? — but 
it  is  not  in  these,  nor  by  these,  that  His  kingdom  stands. 

So  too  His  priesthood  does  not  consist  in  the  outward  display 
of  vestments  and  gestures,  as  did  the  human  priesthood  of 
Aaron  and  our  ecclesiastical  priesthood  at  this  day,  but  in 
spiritual  things,  wherein,  in  His  invisible  office,  He  intercedes  for 
us  with  God  in  heaven,  and  there  offers  Himself,  and  performs 
all  the  duties  of  a  priest ;  as  Paul  describes  Him  to  the  Hebrews 
under  the  figure  of  Melchizedek.  Nor  does  He  only  pray  and 
intercede  for  us  ;  He  also  teaches  us  inwardly  in  the  spirit  with 
the  living  teachings  of  His  Spirit.  Now  these  are  the  two 
special  offices  of  a  priest,  as  is  figured  to  us  in  the  case  of 
fleshly  priests,  by  visible  prayers  and  sermons. 

As  Christ  by  His  birthright  has  obtained  these  two  dignities, 
so  He  imparts  and  communicates  them  to  every  believer  in 
Him,  under  that  law  of  matrimony  of  which  we  have  spoken 
above,  by  which  all  that  is  the  husband's  is  also  the  wife's. 
Hence  all  we  who  believe  on  Christ  are  kings  and  priests  in 
Christ,  as  it  is  said :  "Ye  are  a  chosen  generation,  a  royal 
priesthood,  an  holy  nation,  a  peculiar  people ;  that  ye  should 
shew  forth  the  praises  of  him  who  hath  called  you  out  of 
darkness  into  his  marvellous  light."  (1  Pet.  ii.  9.) 

These  two  things  stand  thus.     First,  as  regards  kingship, 


ON   CHRISTIAN    LIBERTY  115 

every  Christian  is  by  faith  so  exalted  above  all  things,  that,  in 
spiritual  power,  he  is  completely  lord  of  all  things ;  so  that 
nothing  whatever  can  do  him  any  hurt ;  yea,  all  things  are 
subject  to  him,  and  are  compelled  to  be  subservient  to  his 
salvation.  Thus  Paul  says :  "  All  things  work  together  for 
good  to  them  who  are  the  called  "  (Rom.  viii.  28  ) ;  and  also ; 
"  Whether  life,  or  death,  or  things  present,  or  things  to  come : 
all  are  yours ;  and  ye  are  Christ's.  (1  Cor.  iii.  22,  23.) 

Not  that  in  the  sense  of  corporeal  power  any  one  among 
Christians  has  been  appointed  to  possess  and  rule  all  things, 
according  to  the  mad  and  senseless  idea  of  certain  ecclesiastics. 
That  is  the  office  of  kings,  princes,  and  men  upon  earth.  In 
the  experience  of  life  we  see  that  we  are  subjected  to  all  things, 
and  suffer  many  things,  even  death.  Yea,  the  more  of  a  Christian 
any  man  is,  to  so  many  the  more  evils,  sufferings,  and  deaths  is 
he  subject;  as  we  see  in  the  first  place  in  Christ  the  first-born, 
and  in  all  His  holy  brethen. 

This  is  a  spiritual  power,  which  rules  in  the  midst  of  enemies, 
and  is  powerful  in  the  midst  of  distresses.  And  this  is  nothing 
else  than  that  strength  is  made  perfect  in  my  weakness,  and 
that  I  can  turn  all  things  to  the  profit  of  my  salvation ;  so  that 
even  the  cross  and  death  are  compelled  to  serve  me  and  to 
work  together  for  my  salvation.  This  is  a  lofty  and  eminent 
dignity,  a  true  and  almighty  dominion,  a  spiritual  empire, 
in  which  there  is  nothing  so  good,  nothing  so  bad,  as  not  to 
work  together  for  my  good,  if  only  I  believe.  And  yet  there  is 
nothing  of  which  I  have  need — for  faith  alone  suffices  for  my 
salvation — unless  that,  in  it,  faith  may  exercise  the  power  and 
empire  of  its  liberty.  This  is  the  inestimable  power  and  liberty 
of  Christians. 

Nor  are  we  only  kings  and  the  freest  of  all  men,  but  also 
priests  for  ever,  a  dignity  far  higher  than  kingship,  because  by 
that  priesthood  we  are  worthy  to  appear  before  God,  to  pray  for 
others,  and  to  teach  one  another  mutually  the  things  which  are 
of  God.  For  these  are  the  duties  of  priests,  and  they  cannot 
possibly  be  permitted  to  any  unbeliever.  Christ  has  obtained 
for  us  this  favour,  if  we  believe  in  Him,  that,  just  as  we  are  His 
brethren,  and  co-heirs  and  fellow  kings  with  Him,  so  we  should 
be  also  fellow  priests  with  Him,  and  venture  with  confidence, 
through  the  spirit  of  faith,  to  come  into  the  presence  of  God, 

i 


116  LUTHER'S    PRIMARY   WORKS 

and  cry  "  Abba,  Father  ! "  and  to  pray  for  one  another,  and  to 
do  all  things  which  we  see  done  and  figured  in  the  visible  and 
corporeal  office  of  priesthood.  But  to  an  unbelieving  person 
nothing  renders  service  or  works  for  good.  He  himself  is  in 
servitude  to  all  things,  and  all  things  turn  out  for  evil  to  him, 
because  he  uses  all  things  in  an  impious  way  for  his  own 
advantage,  and  not  for  the  glory  of  God.  And  thus  he  is  not 
a  priest,  but  a  profane  person,  whose  prayers  are  turned  into 
sin ;  nor  does  he  ever  appear  in  the  presence  of  God,  because 
God  does  not  hear  sinners. 

Who  then  can  comprehend  the  loftiness  of  that  Christian 
dignity  which,  by  its  royal  power,  rules  over  all  things,  even 
over  death,  life,  and  sin,  and,  by  its  priestly  glory,  is  all 
powerful  with  God ;  since  God  does  what  He  Himself  seeks 
and  wishes  ;  as  it  is  written :  "  He  will  fulfil  the  desire  of 
them  that  fear  Him :  He  also  will  hear  their  cry,  and  will  save 
them"  ?  (Ps.  cxlv.  19.)  This  glory  certainly  cannot  be  attained 
by  any  works,  but  by  faith  only. 

From  these  considerations  any  one  may  clearly  see  how  a 
Christian  man  is  free  from  all  things ;  so  that  he  needs  no 
works  in  order  to  be  justified  and  saved,  but  receives  these  gifts 
in  abundance  from  faith  alone.  Nay,  were  he  so  foolish  as  to 
pretend  to  be  justified,  set  free,  saved,  and  made  a  Christian,  by 
means  of  any  good  work,  he  would  immediately  lose  faith 
with  all  its  benefits.  Such  folly  is  prettily  represented  in  the 
fable,  where  a  dog,  running  along  in  the  water,  and  carrying  in 
his  mouth  a  real  piece  of  meat,  is  deceived  by  the  reflection  of 
the  meat  in  the  water,  and,  in  trying  with  open  mouth  to  seize 
it,  loses  the  meat  and  its  image  at  the  same  time. 

Here  you  will  ask  :  "  If  all  who  are  in  the  Church  are  priests, 
by  what  character  are  those,  whom  we  now  call  priests,  to  be 
distinguished  from  the'  laity  ?  "  I  reply  :  By  the  use  of  these 
words,  "  priest,"  "  clergy,"  "  spiritual  person,"  "  ecclesiastic," 
an  injustice  has  been  done,  since  they  have  been  transferred 
from  the  remaining  body  of  Christians  to  those  few,  who  are 
now,  by  a  hurtful  custom,  called  ecclesiastics.  For  Holy 
Scripture  makes  no  distinction  between  them,  except  that  those, 
who  are  now  boastfully  called  popes,  bishops,  and  lords,  it 
calls  ministers,  servants,  and  stewards,  who  are  to  serve  the 
rest  in  the  ministry  of  the  Word,  for  teaching  the  faith  of  Christ 


ON   CHRISTIAN  LIBERTY  117 

and  the  liberty  of  believers.  For  though  it  is  true  that  we  are 
all  equally  priests,  yet  we  cannot,  nor,  if  we  could,  ought  we  all 
to  minister  and  teach  publicly.  Thus  Paul  says  :  "  Let  a  man 
so  account  of  us  as  of  the  ministers  of  Christ,  and  stewards  of 
the  mysteries  of  God."  (1  Cor.  iv.  1.) 

This  bad  system  has  now  issued  in  such  a  pompous  display 
of  power,  and  such  a  terrible  tyranny,  that  no  earthly  govern- 
ment can  be  compared  to  it,  as  if  the  laity  were  something  else 
than  Christians.  Through  this  perversion  of  things  it  has 
happened  that  the  knowledge  of  Christian  grace,  of  faith,  of 
liberty,  and  altogether  of  Christ,  has  utterly  perished,  and  has 
been  succeeded  by  an  intolerable  bondage  to  human  works  and 
laws ;  and,  according  to  the  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah,  we 
have  become  the  slaves  of  the  vilest  men  on  earth,  who  abuse 
our  misery  to  all  the  disgraceful  and  ignominious  purposes  of 
their  own  will. 

Eeturning  to  the  subject  which  we  had  begun,  I  think  it  is 
made  clear  by  these  considerations  that  it  is  not  sufficient,  nor 
a  Christian  course,  to  preach  the  works,  life,  and  words  of 
Christ  in  a  historic  manner,  as  facts  which  it  suffices  to  know 
as  an  example  how  to  frame  our  life ;  as  do  those  who  are  now 
held  the  best  preachers :  and  much  less  so,  to  keep  silence 
altogether  on  these  things,  and  to  teach  in  their  stead  the  laws 
of  men  and  the  decrees  of  the  Fathers.  There  are  now  not 
a  few  persons  who  preach  and  read  about  Christ  with  the 
object  of  moving  the  human  affections  to  sympathise  with 
Christ,  to  indignation  against  the  Jews,  and  other  childish  and 
womanish  absurdities  of  that  kind. 

Now  preaching  ought  to  have  the  object  of  promoting  faith 
in  Him,  so  that  He  may  not  only  be  Christ,  but  a  Christ  for  you 
and  for  me,  and  that  what  is  said  of  Him,  and  what  He  is 
called,  may  work  in  us.  And  this  faith  is  produced  and  is 
maintained  by  preaching  why  Christ  came,  what  He  has  brought 
us  and  given  to  us,  and  to  what  profit  and  advantage  He  is  to 
be  received.  This  is  done,  when  the  Christian  liberty  which  we 
have  from  Christ  Himself  is  rightly  taught,  and  we  are  shown 
in  what  manner  all  we  Christians  are  kings  and  priests,  and  how 
we  are  lords  of  all  things,  and  may  be  confident  that  whatever 
we  do  in  the  presence  of  God  is  pleasing  and  acceptable  to  Him. 

Whose  heart  would  not  rejoice  in  its  inmost  core  at  hearing 

i  2 


118  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

. 
these  things  ?  Whose  heart,  on  receiving  so  great  a  consola- 
tion, would  not  become  sweet  with  the  love  of  Christ,  a  love 
to  which  it  can  never  attain  by  any  laws  or  works  ?  Who  can 
injure  such  a  heart,  or  make  it  afraid  ?  If  the  consciousness  of 
sin,  or  the  horror  of  death,  rush  in  upon  it,  it  is  prepared  to 
hope  in  the  Lord,  and  is  fearless  of  such  evils,  and  undisturbed, 
until  it  shall  look  down  upon  its  enemies.  For  it  believes  that 
the  righteousness  of  Christ  is  its  own,  and  that  its  sin  is  no 
longer  its  own,  but  that  of  Christ,  for,  on  account  of  its  faith 
in  Christ,  all  its  sin  must  needs  be  swallowed  up  from  before 
the  face  of  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  as  I  have  said  above. 
It  learns  too,  with  the  Apostle,  to  scoff  at  death  and  sin,  and  to 
say:  "  0*  death,  where  is  thy  sting?  0  grave,  where  is  thy 
victory  ?  The  sting  of  death  is  sin,  and  the  strength  of  sin  is 
the  law.  But  thanks  be  to  Grod,  which  giveth  us  the  victory 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  (1  Cor.  xv.  55-57.)  For 
death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory ;  not  only  the  victory  of 
Christ,  but  ours  also  ;  since  by  faith  it  becomes  ours,  and  in  it 
we  too  conquer. 

Let  it  suffice  to  say  this  concerning  the  inner  man  and  its 
liberty,  and  concerning  that  righteousness  of  faith,  which 
needs  neither  laws  nor  good  works ;  nay,  they  are  even  hurtful 
to  it,  if  any  one  pretends  to  be  justified  by  them. 

And  now  let  us  turn  to  the  other  part,  to  the  outward  mam 

Here  we  shall  give  an  answer  to  all  those  who,  taking  offence  at 

the  word  of  faith  and  at  what  I  have  asserted,  say  :  "  If  faith  does 

everything,  and  by  itself  suffices  for  justification,  why  then  are 

good  works  commanded  ?     Are  we  then  to  take  our  ease  and  do 

.  no  works,  content  with  faith  ?  "     Not  so,  impious  men,  I  reply  ; 

fi  not   so.     That    would   indeed  really  be  the  case,  if  we  were 

]  thoroughly  and  completely  inner  and  spiritual  persons;    but 

1  that  will  not  happen  until  the  last  day,  when  the  dead  shall  be 

raised.      As  long  as  we  live  in  the  flesh,  we  are  but  beginning 

and  making  advances  in  that  which  shall  be  completed  in  a 

future  life.      On  this  account  the  Apostle  calls  that  which  we 

have  in  this  life,  the  first-fruits  of  the  Spirit.  (Horn,  viii,  23.) 

In  future  wc  shall  have  the  tenths,  and  the  fulness  of  the 

Spirit.     To  this  part  belongs  the  fact  I  have  stated  before,  that 

the  Christian  is  the  servant  of  all  and  subject  to  all.      For  in 

that  part  in  which  he  is  free,  he  does  no  works,  but  in  that  in 


ON    CHRISTIAN    LIBERTY  119 

which  he  is  a  servant,  he  does  all  works.      Let  us  see  on  what 
principle  this  is  so. 

Although,  as  I  have  said,  inwardly,  and  according  to  the 
spirit,  a  man  is  amply  enough  justified  by  faith,  having  all  that 
he  requires  to  have,  except  that  this  very  faith  and  abundance 
ought  to  increase  from  day  to  day,  even  till  the  future  life ; 
still  he  remains  in  this  mortal  life  upon  earth,  in  which  it  is 
necessary  that  he  should  rule  his  own  body,  and  have  inter- 
course with  men.  Here  then  works  begin ;  here  he  must  not 
take  his  ease ;  here  he  must  give  heed  to  exercise  his  body  by 
fastings,  watchings,  labour,  and  other  moderate  discipline,  so 
that  it  may  be  subdued  to  the  spirit,  and  obey  and  conform 
itself  to  the  inner  man  and  faith,  and  not  rebel  against  them 
nor  hinder  them,  as  is  its  nature  to  do  if  it  is  not  kept  under. 
For  the  inner  man,  being  conformed  to  God,  and  created  after 
the  image  of  God  through  faith,  rejoices  and  delights  itself  in 
Christ,  in  whom  such  blessings  have  been  conferred  on  it ;  and 
hence  has  only  this  task  before  it,  to  serve  God  with  joy  and 
for  nought  in  free  love. 

In  doing  this  he  offends  that  contrary  will  in  his  own  flesh, 
which  is  striving  to  serve  the  world,  and  to  seek  its  own 
gratification.  This  the  spirit  of  faith  cannot  and  will  not 
bear ;  but  applies  itself  with  cheerfulness  and  zeal  to  keep  it 
down  and  restrain  it ;  as  Paul  says  :  "I  delight  in  the  law  of 
God  after  the  inward  man ;  but  I  see  another  law  in  my 
members,  warring  against  the  law  of  my  mind,  and  bringing 
me  into  captivity  to  the  law  of  sin."  (Koin.  vii.  22,  23.)  And 
again  :  "  I  keep  under  my  body,  and  bring  it  into  subjection, 
lest  that  by  any  means,  when  I  have  preached  to  others,  1 
myself  should  be  a  castaway."  (1  Cor.  ix.  27.)  And  :  "  They 
that  are  Christ's  have  crucified  the  flesh  with  the  affections 
and  lusts."  (Gal.  v.  24.) 

These  works,  however,  must  not  be  done  with  any  notion 
that  by  them  a  man  can  be  justified  before  God — for  faith, 
which  alone  is  righteousness  before  God,  will  not  bear  with 
this  false  notion — but  solely  with  this  purpose,  that  the  body 
may  be  brought  into  subjection,  and  be  purified  from  its  evil 
lusts,  so  that  our  eyes  may  be  turned  only  to  purging  away 
those  lusts.  For  when  the  soul  has  been  cleansed  by  faith  and 
made  to  love  God,  it  would  have  all  things  to  be  cleansed  in 


120  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 


like  manner ;  and  especially  its  own  body,  so  that  all  thing 
might  unite  with  it  in  the  love  and  praise  of  God.  Thus  it 
comes  that,  from  the  requirements  of  his  own  body,  a  man 
cannot  take  his  ease,  but  is  compelled  on  its  account  to  do 
many  good  works,  that  he  may  bring  it  into  subjection.  Yet 
these  works  are  not  the  means  of  his  justification  before  God  ■ 
he  does  them  out  of  disinterested  love  to  the  service  of  God  ; 
looking  to  no  other  end  than  to  do  what  is  well-pleasing  to  Him 
whom  he  desires  to  obey  most  dutifully  in  all  things. 

On  this  principle  every  man  may  easily  instruct  himself  in 
what  measure,  and  with  what  distinctions,  he  ought  to  chasten 
his  own  body.  He  will  fast,  watch,  and  labour,  just  as  much 
as  he  sees  to  suffice  for  keeping  down  the  wantonness  and 
concupiscence  of  the  body.  But  those  who  pretend  to  be 
justified  by  works  are  looking,  not  to  the  mortification  of  their 
lusts,  but  only  to  the  works  themselves  ;  thinking  that,  if  they 
can  accomplish  as  many  works  and  as  great  ones  as  possible, 
all  is  well  with  them,  and  they  are  justified.  Sometimes  they 
even  injure  their  brain,  and  extinguish  nature,  or  at  least  make 
it  useless.  This  is  enormous  folly,  and  ignorance  of  Christian 
life  and  faith,  when  a  man  seeks,  without  faith,  to  be  justified 
and  saved  by  works. 

To  make  what  we  have  said  more  easily  understood,  let  us 
set  it  forth  under  a  figure.  The  works  of  a  Christian  man, 
who  is  justified  and  saved  by  his  faith  out  of  the  pure  and 
unbought  mercy  of  God,  ought  to  be  regarded  in  the  same 
light  as  would  have  been  those  of  Adam  and  Eve  in  Paradise, 
and  of  all  their  posterity,  if  they  had  not  sinned.  Of  them  it 
is  said  :  "  The  Lord  God  took  the  man,  and  put  him  into  the 
garden  of  Eden  to  dress  it  and  to  keep  it."  (Gen.  ii.  15.)  Now 
Adam  had  been  created  by  God  just  and  righteous,  so  that  he 
could  not  have  needed  to  be  justified  and  made  righteous  by 
keeping  the  garden  and  working  in  it ;  but,  that  he  might  not 
be  unemployed,  God  gave  him  the  business  of  keeping  and 
cultivating  Paradise.  These  would  have  indeed  been  works  of 
perfect  freedom,  being  done  for  no  object  but  that  of  pleasing 
God,  and  not  in  order  to  obtain  justification,  which  he  already 
had  to  the  full,  and  which  would  have  been  innate  in  us  all. 

So  it  is  with  the  works  of  a  believer.  Being  by  his  faith 
replaced  afresh  in  Paradise  and  created  anew,  he  does  not  need 


;s 


ON   CHRISTIAN   LIBERTY  121 

works  for  his  justification,  but  that  he  may  not  be  idle,  but  may 
keep  his  own  body  and  work  upon  it.  His  works  are  to  be  done 
freely,  with  the  sole  object  of  pleasing  God.  Only  we  are  not 
yet  fully  created  anew  in  perfect  faith  and  love  ;  these  require 
to  be  increased,  not  however  through  works,  but  through  them- 
selves. 

A  bishop,  when  he  consecrates  a  church,  confirms  children, 
or  performs  any  other  duty  of  his  office,  is  not  consecrated  as 
bishop  by  these  works  ;  nay,  unless  he  had  been  previously 
consecrated  as  bishop,  not  one  of  those  works  would  have  any 
validity  ;  they  would  be  foolish,  childish,  and  ridiculous.  Thus 
a  Christian,  being  consecrated  by  his  faith,  does  good  works  ; 
but  he  is  not  by  these  works  made  a  more  sacred  person,  or  more 
a  Christian.  That  is  the  effect  of  faith  alone ;  nay,  unless  he 
were  previously  a  believer  and  a  Christian,  none  of  his  works 
would  have  any  value  at  all ;  they  would  really  be  impious  and 
damnable  sins. 

True  then  are  these  two  sayings  :  Good  works  do  not  make  a 
good  man,  but  a  good  man  does  good  works.  Bad  works  do 
not  make  a  bad  man,  but  a  bad  man  does  bad  works.  Thus  it 
is  always  necessary  that  the  substance  or  person  should  be 
good  before  any  good  works  can  be  done,  and  that  good  works 
should  follow  and  proceed  from  a  good  person.  As  Christ  says  : 
"A  good  tree  cannot  bring  forth  evil  fruit,  neither  can  a 
corrupt  tree  bring  forth  good  fruit."  (Matt.  vii.  18.)  Now  it  is 
clear  that  the  fruit  does  not  bear  the  tree,  nor  does  the  tree 
grow  on  the  fruit ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  trees  bear  the  fruit 
and  the  fruit  grows  on  the  trees. 

As  then  trees  must  exist  before  their  fruit,  and  as  the  fruit 
does  not  make  the  tree  either  good  or  bad,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  a  tree  of  either  kind  produces  fruit  of  the  same  kind ; 
so  must  first  the  person  of  the  man  be  good  or  bad,  before  he  can 
do  either  a  good  or  a  bad  work  ;  and  his  works  do  not  make  him 
tad  or  good,  but  he  himself  makes  his  works  either  bad  or  good. 

We  may  see  the  same  thing  in  all  handicrafts.  A  bad  or 
good  house  does  not  make  a  bad  or  good  builder,  but  a  good  or 
bad  builder  makes  a  good  or  bad  house.  And  in  general,  no 
work  makes  the  workman  such  as  it  is  itself;  but  the  workman 
makes  the  work  such  as  he  is  himself.  Such  is  the  case  too 
with  the  works  of  men.     Such  as  the  man  himself  is,  whether 


122  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 


in  faith  or  in  unbelief,  such  is  his  work ;  good  if  it  be  clone  in 
faith,  bad  if  in  unbelief.  But  the  converse  is  not  true — that, 
such  as  the  work  is,  such  the  man  becomes  in  faith  or  in 
unbelief.  For  as  works  do  not  make  a  believing  man,  so 
neither  do  they  make  a  justified  man  ;  but  faith,  as  it  makes  a 
man  a  believer  and  justified,  so  also  it  makes  his  works  good. 

Since,  then,  works  justify  no  man,  but  a  man  must  be  justified 
before  he  can  do  any  good  work,  it  is  most  evident  that  it^|s 
faith  alone  which,  by  the  mere  mercy  of  God  through  Christ, 
and  by  meaus  of  His  word,  can  worthily  and  sufficiently  justify 
and  save  the  person ;  and  that  a  Christian  man  needs  no 
work,  no  law,  for  his  salvation  ;  for  by  faith  he  is  free  from 
all  law,  and  in  perfect  freedom  does  gratuitously  all  that 
he  does,  seeking  nothing  either  of  profit  or  of  salvation — 
since  by  the  grace  of  God  he  is  already  saved  and  rich  in  all 
things  through  his  faith— but  solely  that  which  is  well-pleasing 
to  God. 

So  too  no  good  work  can  profit  an  unbeliever  to  justification 
and  salvation ;  and  on  the  other  hand  no  evil  work  makes  him 
an  evil  and  condemned  person,  but  that  unbelief,  which  makes 
the  person  and  the  tree  bad,  makes  his  works  evil  and  con- 
demned. Wherefore,  when  any  man  is  made  good  or  bad,  this 
does  not  arise  from  his  works,  but  from  his  faith  or  unbelief, 
as  the  wise  man  says :  "  The  beginning  of  sin  is  to  fall  away 
from  God ; "  that  is,  not  to  believe.  Paul  says  :  "  He  that 
cometh  to  God  must  believe  "  (Heb.  xi.  6) ;  and  Christ  says 
the  same  thing :  "  Either  make  the  tree  good,  and  his  fruit 
good ;  or  else  make  the  tree  corrupt,  and  his  fruit  corrupt." 
(Matt.  xii.  33.)  As  much  as  to  say  :  He  who  wishes  to  have 
good  fruit,  will  begin  with  the  tree,  and  plant  a  good  one; 
even  so  he  who  wishes  to  do  good  works  must  begin,  not  by 
working,  but  by  believing,  since  it  is  this  which  makes  the 
person  good.  For  nothing  makes  the  person  good  but  faith,  nor 
bad  but  unbelief. 

It  is  certainly  true  that,  in  the  sight  of  men,  a  man  becomes 
good  or  evil  by  his  works ;  but  here  "  becoming  "  means  that 
it  is  thus  shown  and  recognised  who  is  good  or  evil ;  as  Christ 
says  :  "  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them."  (Matt.  vii.  20.) 
But  all  this  stops  at  appearances  and  externals ;  and  in  this 
matter  very   many  deceive  themselves,   when    they  presume 


ON   CHRISTIAN    LIBERTY  123 

to  write  and  teach  that  we  are  to  be  justified  by  good  works, 
and  meanwhile  make  no  mention  even  of  faith,  walking  in  their 
own  ways,  ever  deceived  and  deceiving,  going  from  bad  to 
worse,  blind  leaders  of  the  blind,  wearying  themselves  with 
many  works,  and  yet  never  attaining  to  true  righteousness  ;  of 
whom  Paul  says  :  "  Having  a  form  of  godliness,  but  denying 
the  power  thereof ;  ever  learning,  and  never  able  to  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth."  (2  Tim.  iii.  5,  7.) 

He  then,  who  does  not  wish  to  go  astray  with  these  blind 
ones,  must  look  further  than  to  the  works  of  the  law  or  the 
doctrine  of  works  ;  nay,  must  turn  away  his  sight  from  works, 
and  look  to  the  person,  and  to  the  manner  in  which  it  may  be 
justified.  Now  it  is  justified  and  saved,  not  by  works  or  laws, 
but  by  the  word  of  God,  that  is,  by  the  promise  of  His  grace ; 
so  that  the  glory  may  be  to  the  Divine  majesty,  which  has  saved 
us  who  believe,  not  by  works  of  righteousness  which  we  have 
.  done,  but  according  to  His  mercy,  by  the  word  of  His  grace. 

From  all  this  it  is  easy  to  perceive  on  what  principle  good 
works  are  to  be  cast  aside  or  embraced,  and  by  what  rule  all 
teachings  put  forth  concerning  works  are  to  be  understood. 
For  if  works  are  brought  forward  as  grounds  of  justification, 
and  are  done  under  the  false  persuasion  that  we  can  pretend  to 
be  justified  by  them,  they  lay  on  us  the  yoke  of  necessity,  and 
extinguish  liberty  along  with  faith,  and  by  this  very  addition 
to  their  use,  they  become  no  longer  good,  but  really  worthy  of 
condemnation.  For  such  works  are  not  free,  but  blaspheme 
the  grace  of  God,  to  which  alone  it  belongs  to  justify  and  save 
through  faith.  Works  cannot  accomplish  this,  and  yet,  with 
impious  presumption,  through  our  folly,  they  take  it  on  them- 
selves to  do  so ;  and  thus  break  in  with  violence  upon  the  office 
and  glory  of  grace. 

We  do  not  then  reject  good  works ;  nay,  we  embrace  them 
and  teach  them  in  the  highest  degree.  It  is  not  on  their  own 
account  that  we  condemn  them,  but  on  account  of  this  impious 
addition  to  them,  and  the  perverse  notion  of  seeking  justification 
by  them.  These  things  cause  them  to  be  only  good  in  outward 
show,  but  in  reality  not  good ;  since  by  them  men  are  deceived 
and  deceive  others,  like  ravening  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing. 

Now  this  Leviathan,  this  perverted  notion  about  works,  is 
invincible,  when  sincere  faith  is  wanting.     For  those  sanctified 


124  LUTHEE'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

doers  of  works  cannot  but  hold  it,  till  faith,  which  destroys  it, 
comes  and  reigns  in  the  heart.  Nature  cannot  expel  it  by  her 
own  power ;  nay,  cannot  even  see  it  for  what  it  is,  but  considers 
it  as  a  most  holy  will.  And  when  custom  steps  in  besides,  and 
strengthens  this  pravity  of  nature,  as  has  happened  by  means 
of  impious  teachers,  then  the  evil  is  incurable,  and  leads  astray 
multitudes  to  irreparable  ruin.  Therefore,  though  it  is  good  to 
preach  and  write  about  penitence,  confession,  and  satisfaction, 
yet  if  we  stop  there,  and  do  not  go  on  to  teach  faith,  such 
teaching  is  without  doubt  deceitful  and  devilish.  For  Christ, 
speaking  by  His  servant  John,  not  only  said  :  "Kepent  ye  ;"  but 
added  :  "  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand."  (Matt.  iii.  2.) 
For  not  one  word  of  God  only,  but  both,  should  be 
preached;  new  and  old  things  should  be  brought  out  of  the 
treasury,  as  well  the  voice  of  the  law,  as  the  word  of  grace. 
The  voice  of  the  law  should  be  brought  forward,  that  men 
may  be  terrified  and  brought  to  a  knowledge  of  their  sins,  and 
thence  be  converted  to  penitence  and  to  a  better  manner  of  life. 
But  we  must  not  stop  here ;  that  would  be  to  wound  only  and 
\  not  to  bind  up,  to  strike  and  not  to  heal,  to  kill  and  not  to 
'make  alive,  to  bring  down  to  hell  and  not  to  bring  back,  to 
humble  and  not  to  exalt.  Therefore  the  word  of  grace,  and  of 
Ithe  promised  remission  of  sin,  must  also  be  preached,  in  order 
vto  teach  and  set  up  faith  ;  since,  without  that  word,  contrition, 
penitence,  and  all  other  duties,  are  performed  and  taught  in 
Tain. 

There  still  remain,  it  is  true,  preachers  of  repentance  and 
grace,  but  they  do  not  explain  the  law  and  the  promises  of  God 
to  such  an  end,  and  in  such  a  spirit,  that  men  may  learn 
whence  repentance  and  grace  are  to  come.  For  repentance 
comes  from  the  law  of  God,  but  faith  or  grace  from  the  promises 
of  God,  as  it  is  said  :  "  Faith  cometh  by  hearing,  and  hearing 
by  the  word  of  God."  (Bom.  x.  17.)  Whence  it  comes,  that  a 
man,  when  humbled  and  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  himself 
by  the  threatenings  and  terrors  of  the  law,  is  consoled  and 
raised  up  by  faith  in  the  Divine  promise.  Thus  "  weeping  may 
endure  for  a  night,  but  joy  cometh  in  the  morning."  (Ps.  xxx. 
5.)  Thus  much  we  say  concerning  works  in  general,  and  also 
concerning  those  which  the  Christian  practises  with  regard  to 
his  own  body. 


ON   CHRISTIAN   LIBERTY  125 

Lastly,  we  will  speak  also  of  those  works  which  he  performs 
towards  his  neighbour.  For  man  does  not  live  for  himself 
alone  in  this  mortal  body,  in  order  to  work  on  its  account,  but 
also  for  all  men  on  earth ;  nay,  he  lives  only  for  others  and  not 
for  himself.  For  it  is  to  this  end  that  he  brings  his  own  body 
into  subjection,  that  he  may  be  able  to  serve  others  more 
sincerely  and  more  freely  ;  as  Paul  says  :  "  None  of  us  liveth 
to  himself,  and  no  man  dieth  to  himself.  For  whether  we  live, 
we  live  unto  the  Lord  ;  and  whether  we  die,  we  die  unto 
the  Lord."  (Kom.  xiv.  7,  8.)  Thus  it  is  impossible  that  he 
should  take  his  ease  in  this  life,  and  not  work  for  the  good  of 
his  neighbours  ;  since  he  must  needs  speak,  act,  and  converse 
among  men ;  just  as  Christ  was  made  in  the  likeness  of  men, 
and  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  and  had  His  conversation  among 
men. 

Yet  a  Christian  has  need  of  none  of  these  things  for  justi- 
fication and  salvation,  but  in  all  his  works  he  ought  to  entertain 
this  view,  and  look  only  to  this  object,  that  he  may  serve  and 
be  useful  to  others  in  all  that  he  does  ;  having  nothing  before 
his  eyes  but  the  necessities  and  the  advantage  of  his  neighbour. 
Thus  the  Apostle  commands  us  to  work  with  our  own  hands, 
that  we  may  have  to  give  to  those  that  need.  He  might  have 
said,  that  we  may  support  ourselves ;  but  he  tells  us  to  give  to 
those  that  need.  It  is  the  part  of  a  Christian  to  take  care  of 
his  own  body  for  the  very  purpose  that,  by  its  soundness  and 
wellbeing,  he  may  be  enabled  to  labour,  and  to  acquire  and  pre- 
serve property,  for  the  aid  of  those  who  are  in  want ;  that  thus 
the  stronger  member  may  serve  the  weaker  member,  and  we  may 
be  children  of  God,  thoughtful  and  busy  one  for  another,  bearing 
one  another's  burdens,  and  so  fulfilling  the  law  of  Christ. 

Here  is  the  truly  Christian  life ;  here  is  faith  really  working 
by  love  ;  when  a  man  applies  himself  with  joy  and  love  to  the 
works  of  that  freest  servitude,  in  which  he  serves  others  volun- 
tarily and  for  nought ;  himself  abundantly  satisfied  in  the 
fulness  and  riches  of  his  own  faith. 

Thus,  when  Paul  had  taught  the  Philippians  how  they  had 
been  made  rich  by  that  faith  in  Christ,  in  which  they  had 
obtained  all  things,  he  teaches  them  further  in  these  words — 
"  If  there  be  therefore  any  consolation  in  Christ,  if  any  comfort 
of  love,  if  any  fellowship  of  the  Spirit,  if  any  bowels  and  mercies, 


126  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

fulfil  ye  my  joy,  that  ye  be  like-minded,  having  the  same  love, 
being  of  one  accord,  of  one  mind.  Let  nothing  be  done  through 
strife  or  vainglory ;  but  in  lowliness  of  mind  let  each  esteem 
other  better  than  themselves.  Look  not  every  man  on  his 
own  things,  but  every  man  also  on  the  things  of  others." 
(Phil.  ii.  1-4.) 

In  this  we  see  clearly  that  the  Apostle  lays  down  this  rule 
for  a  Christian  life,  that  all  our  works  should  be  directed  to  the 
advantage  of  others ;  since  every  Christian  has  such  abundance 
through  his  faith,  that  all  his  other  works  and  his  whole  life 
remain  over  and  above,  wherewith  to  serve  and  benefit  his 
neighbour  of  spontaneous  good  will. 

To  this  end  he  brings  forward  Christ  as  an  example,  saying : 
"  Let  this  mind  be  in  you,  which  was  also  in  Christ  Jesus  :  who, 
being  in  the  form  of  God,  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal 
with  God :  but  made  himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took  upon 
him  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  was  made  in  the  likeness  of  men  ; 
and  being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  he  humbled  himself,  and 
became  obedient  unto  death."  (Phil.  ii.  5-8.)  This  most 
wholesome  saying  of  the  Apostle  has  been  darkened  to  us  by 
men  who,  totally  misunderstanding  the  expressions:  "form. of 
God,"  "  form  of  a  servant,"  "  fashion,"  "  likeness  of  men,"  have 
transferred  them  to  the  natures  of  Godhead  and  manhood. 
Paul's  meaning  is  this :  Christ,  when  He  was  full  of  the  form 
of  God,  and  abounded  in  all  good  things,  so  that  He  had  no 
need  of  works  or  sufferings  to  be  justified  and  saved — for  all  these 
things  He  had  from  the  very  beginning — yet  was  not  puffed  up 
with  these  things,  and  did  not  raise  Himself  above  us,  and 
arrogate  to  Himself  power  over  us,  though  He  might  lawfully 
have  done  so,  but  on  the  contrary  so  acted  in  labouring, 
working,  suffering,  and  dying,  as  to  be  like  the  rest  of  men, 
and  no  otherwise  than  a  man  in  fashion  and  in  conduct,  as  if  he 
were  in  want  of  all  things,  and  had  nothing  of  the  form  of  God  ; 
and  yet  all  this  He  did  for  our  sakes,  that  He  might  serve  us, 
and  that  all  the  works  He  should  do  under  that  form  of  a  servant, 
might  become  ours. 

Thus  a  Christian,  like  Christ  his  head,  being  full  and  in 
abundance  through  his  faith,  ought  to  be  content  with  this 
form  of  God,  obtained  by  faith  ;  except  that,  as  I  have  said,  he 
ought    to  increase  this  faith,   till  it  be  perfected.     For  this 


ON   CHRISTIAN   LIBERTY  127 

faith  is  his  life,  justification,  and  salvation,  preserving  his 
person  itself  and  making  it  pleasing  to  God,  and  bestowing  on 
him  all  that  Christ  has ;  as  I  have  said  above,  and  as  Paul 
affirms  :  "  The  life  which  I  now  live  in  the  flesh  I  live  by  the 
faith  of  the  Son  of  God."  (Gal.  ii.  20.)  Though  he  is  thus  free^ 
from  all  works,  yet  he  ought  to  empty  himself  of  this  liberty, 
take  on  him  the  form  of  a  servant,  be  made  in  the  likeness  of 
men,  be  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  serve,  help,  and  in  every 
way  act  towards  his  neighbour  as  he  sees  that  God  through 
Christ  has  acted  and  is  acting  towards  him.  All  this  he 
should  do  freely,  and  with  regard  to  nothing  but  the  good 
pleasure  of  God,  and  he  should  reason  thus : 

Lo !  my  God,  without  merit  on  my  part,  of  His  pure  and 
free  mercy,  has  given  to  me,  an  unworthy,  condemned,  and 
contemptible  creature,  all  the  riches  of  justification  and  salva- 
tion in  Christ,  so  that  I  no  longer  am  in  want  of  anything, 
except  of  faith  to  believe  that  this  is  so.  For  such  a  Father 
then,  who  has  overwhelmed  me  with  these  inestimable  riches 
of  His,  why  should  I  not  freely,  cheerfully,  and  witji  my 
whole  heart  and  from  voluntary  zeal,  do  all  that  I  know  will 
be  pleasing  to  Him,  and  acceptable  in  His  sight?  I  will 
therefore  give  myself,  as  a  sort  of  Christ,  to  my  neighbour,  as 
Christ  has  given  Himself  to  me  ;  and  will  do  nothing  in  this 
life,  except  what  I  see  will  be  needful,  advantageous,  and 
wholesome  for  my  neighbour,  since  by  faith  I  abound  in  all 
good  things  in  Christ. 

Thus  from  faith  flow  forth  love  and  joy  in  the  Lord,  and 
from  love  a  cheerful,  willing,  free  spirit,  disposed  to  serve  our 
neighbour  voluntarily,  without  taking  any  account  of  gratitude 
or  ingratitude,  praise  or  blame,  gain  or  loss.  Its  object  is  not 
to  lay  men  under  obligations,  nor  does  it  distinguish  between 
friends  and  enemies,  or  look  to  gratitude  or  ingratitude,  but 
most  freely  and  willingly  spends  itself  and  its  goods,  whether 
it  loses  them  through  ingratitude,  or  gains  good  will.  For 
thus  did  its  Father,  distributing  all  things  to  all  men  abun- 
dantly and  freely ;  making  His  sun  to  rise  upon  the  just  and 
the  unjust.  Thus  too  the  child  does  and  endures  nothing, 
except  from  the  free  joy  with  which  it  delights  through  Christ 
in  God,  the  giver  of  such  great  gifts. 

You  see  then  that,  if  we  recognise  those  great  and  precious 


128  LUTHER'S    PRIMARY   WORKS 

gifts,  as  Peter  says,  which  have  been  given  to  us,  love  is 
quickly  diffused  in  our  hearts  through  the  Spirit,  and  by  love 
we  are  made  free,  joyful,  all-powerful,  active  workers,  victors 
over  all  our  tribulations,  servants  to  our  neighbour,  and  never- 
theless lords  of  all  things.  But  for  those  who  do  not  recognise 
the  good  things  given  to  them  through  Christ,  Christ  has 
been  born  in  vain ;  such  persons  walk  by  works,  and  will  never 
attain  the  taste  and  feeling  of  these  great  things.  Therefore, 
just  as  our  neighbour  is  in  want,  and  has  need  of  our  abun- 
dance, so  we  too  in  the  sight  of  God  were  in  want,  and  had 
need  of  His  mercy.  And  as  our  heavenly  Father  has  freely 
helped  us  in  Christ,  so  ought  we  freely  to  help  our  neighbour 
by  our  body  and  works,  and  each  should  become  to  other  a 
sort  of  Christ,  so  that  we  may  be  mutually  Christs,  and  that 
the  same  Christ  may  be  in  all  of  us  ;  that  is,  that  we  may  be 
truly  Christians. 

Who  then  can  comprehend  the  riches  and  glory  of  the 
Christian  life  ?  It  can  do  all  things,  has  all  things,  and  is  in 
want  of  nothing ;  is  lord  over  sin,  death,  and  hell,  and  at  the 
same  time  is  the  obedient  and  useful  servant  of  all.  But 
alas  !  it  is  at  this  day  unknown  throughout  the  world  ;  it  is 
neither  preached  nor  sought  after,  so  that  we  are  quite 
ignorant  about  our  own  name,  why  we  are  and  are  called 
Christians.  We  are  certainly  called  so  from  Christ,  who  is 
not  absent,  but  dwells  among  us,  provided,  that  is,  that  we 
believe  in  Him,  and  are  reciprocally  and  mutually  one  the  Christ 
of  the  other,  doing  to  our  neighbour  as  Christ  does  to  us.  But 
now,  in  the  doctrine  of  men,  we  are  taught  only  to  seek  after 
merits,  rewards,  and  things  which  are  already  ours,  and  we 
have  made  of  Christ  a  task-master  far  more  severe  than  Moses. 

The  Blessed  Virgin,  beyond  all  others,  affords  us  an  example 
of  the  same  faith,  in  that  she  was  purified  according  to  the  law 
of  Moses,  and  like  all  other  women,  though  she  was  bound  by 
no  such  law,  and  had  no  need  of  purification.  Still  she 
submitted  to  the  law  voluntarily  and  of  free  love,  making 
herself  like  the  rest  of  women,  that  she  might  not  offend  or 
throw  contempt  on  them.  She  was  not  justified  by  doing 
this ;  but,  being  already  justified,  she  did  it  freely  and 
gratuitously.  Thus  ought  our  works  too  to  be  done,  and  not  in 
order  to  be  justified  by  them ;  for,  being   first  justified   by 


ON   CHRISTIAN    LIBERTY  129 

faith,  we  ought  to  do  all  our  works  freely  and  cheerfully  for 
the  sake  of  others. 

St.  Paul  circumcised  his  disciple  Timothy,  not  because  he 
needed  circumcision  for  his  justification,  Tmt  that  he  might  not 
offend  or  contemn  those  Jews,  weak  in  the  faith,  who  had  not 
yet  been  able  to  comprehend  the  liberty  of  faith.  On  the 
other  hand,  when  they  contemned  liberty,  and  urged  that 
circumcision  was  necessary  for  justification,  he  resisted  them, 
and  would  not  allow  Titus  to  be  circumcised.  For  as  he  would 
not  offend  or  contemn  any  one's  weakness  in  faith,  but  yielded 
for  the  time  to  their  will,  so  again  he  would  not  have  the 
liberty  of  faith  offended  or  contemned  by  hardened  self- 
justifiers,  but  walked  in  a  middle  path,  sparing  the  weak  for 
the  time,  and  always  resisting  the  hardened,  that  he  might 
convert  all  to  the  liberty  of  faith.  On  the  same  principle  we 
ought  to  act,  receiving  those  that  are  weak  in  the  faith,  but 
boldly  resisting  these  hardened  teachers  of  works,  of  whom  we 
shall  hereafter  speak  at  more  length. 

Christ  also,  when  His  disciples  were  asked  for  the  tribute 
money,  asked  of  Peter,  whether  the  children  of  a  king  were  not 
free  from  taxes.  Peter  agreed  to  this ;  yet  Jesus  commanded 
him  to  go  to  the  sea,  saying :  "  Lest  we  should  offend  them,  go 
thou  to  the  sea,  and  cast  a  hook,  and  take  up  the  fish  that  first 
cometh  up  ;  and  when  thou  hast  opened  his  mouth,  thou  shalt 
find  a  piece  of  money ;  that  take,  and  give  unto  them  for  me 
and  thee."  (Matt.  xvii.  27.) 

This  example  is  very  much  to  our  purpose ;  for  here  Christ 
calls  Himself  and  His  disciples  free  men,  and  children  of  a  king, 
in  want  of  nothing ;  and  yet  He  voluntarily  submits  and  pays 
the  tax.  Just  as  far  then  as  this  work  was  necessary  or  useful 
to  Christ  for  justification  or  salvation,  so  far  do  all  His  other 
works  or  those  of  His  disciples  avail  for  justification.  They  are 
really  free  and  subsequent  to  justification,  and  only  clone  to  serve 
others  and  set  them  an  example. 

Such  are  the  works  which  Paul  inculcated ;  that  Christians  i  \  • 
should  be  subject  to  principalities  and  powers,  and  ready  to  || 
every  good  work  (Tit.  iii.  1) ;  not  that  they  may  be  justified  I 
by  these  things,  for  they  are  already  justified  by  faith,  but  that  in  k 
liberty  of  spirit  they  may  thus  be  the  servants  of  others,  and  Sj 
subject  to  powers,  obeying  their  will  out  of  gratuitous  love. 


130  LUTIIEll'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

Such  too  ought  to  have  been  the  works  of  all  colleges, 
monasteries,  and  priests  ;  every  one  doing  the  works  of  his  own 
profession  and  state  of  life,  not  in  order  to  be  justified  by  them, 
but  in  order  to  bring  his  own  body  into  subjection,  as  an 
example  to  others,  who  themselves  also  need  to  keep  under 
their  bodies ;  and  also  in  order  to  accommodate  himself  to  the 
will  of  others,  out  of  free  love.  But  we  must  always  guard 
most  carefully  against  any  vain  confidence  or  presumption  of 
being  justified,  gaining  merit,  or  being  saved  by  these  works ; 
this  being  the  part  of  faith  alone,  as  I  have  so  often  said. 

Any  man  possessing  this  knowledge  may  easily  keep  clear  of 
danger  among  those  innumerable  commands  and  precepts  of  the 
Pope,  of  bishops,  of  monasteries,  of  churches,  of  princes,  and  of 
magistrates,  which  some  foolish  pastors  urge  on  us  as  being 
necessary  for  justification  and  salvation,  calling  them  precepts 
of  the  Church,  when  they  are  not  so  at  all.  For  the  Christian 
freeman  will  speak  thus :  I  will  fast,  I  will  pray,  I  will  do  this 
or  that,  which  is  commanded  me  by  men,  not  as  having  any 
need  of  these  things  for  justification  or  salvation,  but  that  I 
may  thus  comply  with  the  will  of  the  Pope,  of  the  bishop,  of 
such  a  community  or  such  a  magistrate,  or  of  my  neighbour  as 
an  example  to  him ;  for  this  cause  I  will  do  and  suffer  all 
things,  just  as  Christ  did  and  suffered  much  more  for  me, 
though  He  needed  not  at  all  to  do  so  on  His  own  account,  and 
made  Himself  for  my  sake  under  the  law,  when  He  was  not 
under  the  law.  And  although  tyrants  may  do  me  violence  or 
wrong  in  requiring  obedience  to  these  things,  yet  it  will  not 
hurt  me  to  do  them,  so  long  as  they  are  not  done  against  God. 

From  all  this  every  man  will  be  able  to  attain  a  sure 
judgment  and  faithful  discrimination  between  all  works  and 
laws,  and  to  know  who  are  blind  and  foolish  pastors,  and  who 
are  true  and  good  ones.  For  whatsoever  work  is  not  directed 
to  the  sole  end,  either  of  keeping  under  the  body,  or  of  doing 
service  to  our  neighbour — provided  he  require  nothing  contrary 
to  the  will  of  God — is  no  good  or  Christian  work.  Hence  I  greatly 
fear  that  at  this  day  few  or  no  colleges,  monasteries,  altars,  or 
ecclesiastical  functions  are  Christian  ones ;  and  the  same  may 
be  said  of  fasts  and  special  prayers  to  certain  Saints.  I  fear 
that  in  all  these  nothing  is  being  sought  but  what  is  already 
ours  ;  while  we  fancy  that  by  these  things  our  sins  are  purged 


ON   CHRISTIAN    LIBERTY  131 

away  and  salvation  is  attained,  and  thus  utterly  do  away  with 
Christian  liberty.  This  comes  from  ignorance  of  Christian  faith 
and  liberty. 

This  ignorance,  and  this  crushing  of  liberty,  are  diligently 
promoted  by  the  teaching  of  very  many  blind  pastors,  who  stir 
up  and  urge  the  people  to  a  zeal  for  these  things,  praising  such 
zeal  and  puffing  up  men  with  their  indulgences,  but  never  . 
teaching  faith.  Now  I  would  advise  you,  if  you  have  any  wish 
to  pray,  to  fast,  or  to  made  foundations  in  churches,  as  they  call 
it,  to  take  care  not  to  do  so  with  the  object  of  gaining  any 
advantage,  either  temporal  or  eternal.  You  will  thus  wrong  your 
faith  which  alone  bestows  all  things  on  you,  and  the  increase  of 
which,  either  by  working  or  by  suffering,  is  alone  to  be  cared 
for.  What  you  give,  give  freely  and  without  price,  that  others 
may  prosper  and  have  increase  from  you  and  from  your  good- 
ness. Thus  you  will  be  a  truly  good  man  and  a  Christian. 
For  what  do  you  want  with  your  goods  and  your  works,  which 
are  done  over  and  above  for  the  subjection  of  the  body,  since 
you  have  abundance  for  yourself  through  your  faith,  in  which 
God  has  given  you  all  things  ? 

We  give  this  rule  :  the  good  things  which  we  have  from 
God  ought  to  flow  from  one  to  another,  and  become  common 
to  all,  so  that  every  one  of  us  may,  as  it  were,  put  on  his 
neighbour,  and  so  behave  towards  him  as  if  he  were  himself 
in  his  place.  They  flowed  and  do  flow  from  Christ  to  us ;  he 
put  us  on,  and  acted  for  us  as  if  he  himself  were  what  we  are. 
From  us  they  flow  to  those  who  have  need  of  them ;  so  that 
my  faith  and  righteousness  ought  to  be  laid  down  before  God 
as  a  covering  and  intercession  for  the  sins  of  my  neighbour, 
which  I  am  to  take  on  myself,  and  so  labour  and  endure 
servitude  in  them,  as  if  they  were  my  own ;  for  thus  has  Christ 
done  for  us.  This  is  true  love  and  the  genuine  truth  of 
Christian  life.  But  only  there  is  it  true  and  genuine,  where 
there  is  true  and  genuine  faith.  Hence  the  Apostle  attributes 
to  Charity  this  quality,  that  she  seeketh  not  her  own. 

We  conclude  therefore  that  a  Christian  man  does  not  live  in    \ ' 
himself,  but   in  Christ  and  in  his   neighbour,  or  else  is  no 
Christian  ;  in_Chji&tJby-4aith,,in.-his_ndghbojir^         lave.     By 
faith  he  is  carried  upwards  above  himself  to  God,  and  by  love 
he    sinks  back  below  himself  to  his   neighbour,  still  always 

K 


132  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

abiding  in  God  and  His  love,  as  Christ  says  :  "  Verily  I  say 
unto  you,  hereafter  ye  shall  see  heaven  open,  and  the  angels 
of  God  ascending  and  descending  upon  the  Son  of  man." 
(John  i„  51.) 

Thus  much  concerning  liberty,  which,  as  you  see,  is  a  true 
and  spiritual  liberty,  making  our  hearts  free  from  all  sins,  laws, 
and  commandments  ;  as  Paul  says  :  "  The  law  is  not  made  for 
a  righteous  man"  (1  Tim.  i.  9)  ;  and  one  which  surpasses 
every  other  and  outward  liberty,  as  far  as  heaven  is  above  earth. 
May  Christ  make  us  to  understand  and  preserve  this  liberty. 
Amen. 

Finally,  for  the  sake  of  those  to  whom  nothing  can  be  stated 
so  well  but  that  they  misunderstand  and  distort  it,  we  must 
add  a  word,  in  case  they  can  understand  even  that.  There  are 
very  many  persons,  who,  when  they  hear  of  this  liberty  of  faith, 
straightway  turn  it  into  an  occasion  of  licence.  They  think 
that  everything  is  now  lawful  for  them,  and  do  not  choose  to  show 
themselves  free  men  and  Christians  in  any  other  way  than  by 
their  contempt  and  reprehension  of  ceremonies,  of  traditions,  of 
human  laws ;  as  if  they  were  Christians  merely  because  they 
refuse  to  fast  on  stated  days,  or  eat  flesh  when  others  fast,  or 
omit  the  customary  prayers  ;  scoffing  at  the  precepts  of  men, 
but  utterly  passing  over  all  the  rest  that  belongs  to  the  Christian 
religion.  On  the  other  hand,  they  are  most  pertinaciously  re- 
sisted by  those  who  strive  after  salvation  solely  by  their  obser- 
vance of  and  reverence  for  ceremonies  ;  as  if  they  would  be  saved 
merely  because  they  fast  on  stated  days,  or  abstain  from  flesh, 
or  make  formal  prayers  ;  talking  loudly  of  the  precepts  of  the 
Church  and  of  the  Fathers,  and  not  caring  a  straw  about  those 
things  which  belong  to  our  genuine  faith.  Both  these  parties 
are  plainly  culpable,  in  that,  while  they  neglect  matters  which 
are  of  weight  and  necessary  for  salvation,  they  contend  noisily 
about  such  as  are  without  weight  and  not  necessary. 

How  much  more  rightly  does  the  Apostle  Paul  teach  us  to 
walk  in  the  middle  path,  condemning  either  extreme,  and 
saying :  "  Let  not  him  that  eateth  despise  him  that  eateth  not ; 
and  let  not  him  which  eateth  not  judge  him  that  eateth." 
(Kom.  xiv.  3.)  You  see  here  how  the  Apostle  blames  those 
who,  not  from  religious  feeling,  but  in  mere  contempt,  neglect 
and  rail  at  ceremonial  observances ;    and  teaches  them  not  to 


ON   CHRISTIAN   LIBERTY  133 

despise,  since  this  "  knowledge  puffeth  up."  Again  he  teaches 
the  pertinacious  upholders  of  these  things  not  to  judge  their 
opponents.  For  neither  party  observes  towards  the  other  that 
charity  which  edifieth.  In  this  matter  we  must  listen  to 
Scripture,  which  teaches  us  to  turn  aside  neither  to  the  right 
hand  nor  to  the  left,  but  to  follow  those  right  precepts  of  the 
Lord  which  rejoice  the  heart.  For  just  as  a  man  is  not 
righteous,  merely  because  he  serves  and  devotes  himself  to 
works  and  ceremonial  rites,  so  neither  will  he  be  accounted 
righteous,  merely  because  he  neglects  and  despises  them. 

It  is  not  from  works  that  we  are  set  free  by  the  faith  of 
Christ,  but  from  the  belief  in  works,  that  is,  from  foolishly 
presuming  to  seek  justification  through  works.  Faith  redeems 
our  consciences,  makes  them  upright  and  preserves  them,  since 
by  it  we  recognise  the  truth  that  justification  does  not  depend 
on  our  works,  although  good  works  neither  can  nor  ought  to  be 
wanting  to  it ;  just  as  we  cannot  exist  without  food  and  drink 
and  all  the  functions  of  this  mortal  body.  Still  it  is  not 
on  them  that  our  justification  is  based,  but  on  faith;  and  yet 
they  ought  not  on  that  account  to  be  despised  or  neglected. 
Thus  in  this  world  we  are  compelled  by  the  needs  of  this 
bodily  life  ;  but  we  are  not  hereby  justified.  "  My  kingdom  is 
not  hence,  nor  of  this  world,"  says  Christ ;  but  He  does  not 
say  :  "  My  kingdom  is  not  here,  nor  in  this  world."  Paul  too 
says  :  "  Though  we  walk  in  the  flesh,  we  do  not  war  after  the 
flesh  "  (2  Cor.  x.  3)  ;  and  :  "  The  life  which  I  now  live  in  the 
flesh  I  live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God."  (Gal.  ii.  20.) 
Thus  our  doings,  life,  and  being,  in  works  and  ceremonies,  are 
done  from  the  necessities  of  this  life,  and  with  the  motive  of 
governing  our  bodies ;  but  yet  we  are  not  justified  by  these 
things,  but  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God. 

The  Christian  must  therefore  walk  in  the  middle  path,  and 
set  these  two  classes  of  men  before  his  eyes.  He  may  meet 
with  hardened  and  obstinate  ceremonialists,  who,  like  deaf 
adders,  refuse  to  listen  to  the  truth  of  liberty,  and  cry  up, 
enjoin,  and  urge  on  us  their  ceremonies,  as  if  they  could  justify 
us  without  faith.  Such  were  the  Jews  of  old,  who  would  not 
understand,  that  they  might  act  well.  These  men  we  must 
resist,  do  just  the  contrary  to  what  they  do,  and  be  bold  to  give 
them  offence ;  lest  by  this  impious  notion  of  theirs  they  should 

k   2 


134  LUTHER'S    PRIMARY    WORKS 

deceive  many  along  with  themselves.  In  the  sight  of  these 
men  it  is  expedient  to  eat  flesh,  to  break  fasts,  and  to  do  in 
behalf  of  the  liberty  of  faith  things  which  they  hold  to  be  the 
greatest  sins.  We  must  say  of  them  :  "Let  them  alone  ;  they 
be  blind  leaders  of  the  blind."  (Matt.  xv.  14.)  In  this  way 
Paul  also  would  not  have  Titus  circumcised,  though  these  men 
urged  it ;  and  Christ  defended  the  Apostles,  who  had  plucked 
ears  of  corn  on  the  Sabbath  day  ;  and  many  like  instances. 

Or  else  we  may  meet  with  simple-minded  and  ignorant 
persons,  weak  in  the  faith,  as  the  Apostle  calls  them,  who  are 
as  yet  unable  to  apprehend  that  liberty  of  faith,  even  if  willing 
to  do  so.  These  we  must  spare,  lest  they  should  be  offended. 
We  must  bear  with  their  infirmity,  till  they  shall  be  more  fully 
instructed.  For  since  these  men  do  not  act  thus  from  hardened 
malice,  but  only  from  weakness  of  faith,  therefore,  in  order  to 
avoid  giving  them  offence,  we  must  keep  fasts  and  do  other 
things  which  they  consider  necessary.  This  is  required  of  us 
by  charity,  which  injures  no  one,  but  serves  all  men.  It  is  not 
the  fault  of  these  persons  that  they  are  weak,  but  that  of  their 
pastors,  who  by  the  snares  and  weapons  of  their  own  traditions 
have  brought  them  into  bondage,  and  wounded  their  souls, 
when  they  ought  to  have  been  set  free  and  healed  by  the 
teaching  of  faith  and  liberty.  Thus  the  Apostle  says:  "If 
meat  make  my  brother  to  offend,  I  will  eat  no  flesh  while  the 
world  standeth."  (1  Cor.  viii.  13.)  And  again  :  "  I  know,  and 
am  persuaded  by  the  Lord  Jesus,  that  there  is  nothing  unclean 
of  itself ;  but  to  him  that  esteemeth  anything  to  be  unclean,  to 
him  it  is  unclean.  It  is  evil  for  that  man  who  eateth  with 
offence."     (Eom.  xiv.  14,  20.) 

Thus,  though  we  ousfht  boldlv  to  resist  those  teachers  of 
tradition,  and  though  those  laws  of  the  pontiffs,  by  which  they 
make  aggressions  on  the  people  of  God,  deserve  sharp  reproof, 
yet  we  must  spare  the  timid  crowd,  who  are  held  captive  by  the 
laws  of  those  impious  tyrants,  till  they  are  set  free.  Fight 
vigorously  against  the  wolves,  but  on  behalf  of  the  sheep,  not 
against  the  sheep.  And  this  you  may  do  by  inveighing 
against  the  laws  and  lawgivers,  and  yet  at  the  same  time 
observing  these  laws  with  the  weak,  lest  they  be  offended ; 
until  they  shall  themselves  recognise  the  tyranny  as  such,  and 
understand  their  own  liberty.     If  you  wish  to  use  your  liberty, 


ON   CHRISTIAN    LIBERTY  135 

do  it  secretly,  as  Paul  says  :  "  Hast  thou  faith  ?  have  it  to  thy- 
self before  God."  (Bom.  xiv.  22.)  But  take  care  not  to  use 
'it  in  the  presence  of  the  weak.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the 
presence  of  tyrants  and  obstinate  opposers,  use  your  liberty  in 
their  despite,  and  with  the  utmost  pertinacity,  that  they  too 
may  understand  that  they  themselves  are  tyrants,  and  their 
laws  useless  for  justification ;  nay,  that  they  had  no  right  to 
establish  such  laws. 

Since,  then,  we  cannot  live  in  this  world  without  ceremonies 
and  works ;  since  the  hot  and  inexperienced  period  of  youth  has 
need  of  being  restrained  and  protected  by  such  bonds ;  and 
since  everyone  is  bound  to  keep  under  his  own  body  by 
attention  to  these  things ;  therefore  the  minister  of  Christ 
must  be  prudent  and  faithful  in  so  ruling  and  teaching  the 
people  of  Christ  in  all  these  matters  that  no  root  of  bitterness 
may  spring  up  among  them,  and  so  many  be  denied,  as  Paul 
warned  the  Hebrews ;  that  is,  that  they  may  not  lose  the  faith, 
and  begin  to  be  defiled  by  a  belief  in  works,  as  the  means  of 
justification.  This  is  a  thing  which  easily  happens,  and  defiles 
very  many,  unless  faith  be  constantly  inculcated  along  with 
works.  It  is  impossible  to  avoid  this  evil,  when  faith  is  passed 
over  in  silence,  and  only  the  ordinances  of  men  are  taught,  as 
has  been  done  hitherto  by  the  pestilent,  impious,  and  soul- 
destroying  traditions  of  our  pontiffs,  and  opinions  of  our  theo- 
logians. An  infinite  number  of  souls  have  been  drawn  down  to 
hell  by  these  snares,  so  that  you  may  recognise  the  work  of 
Antichrist. 

In  brief,  as  poverty  is  imperilled  amid  riches,  honesty  amid 
business,  humility  amid  honours,  abstinence  amid  feasting, 
purity  amid  pleasures,  so  is  justification  by  faith  imperilled 
among  ceremonies.  Solomon  says  :  "  Can  a  man  take  fire  in 
his  bosom,  and  his  clothes  not  be  burned?  "  (Prov.  vi.  27.)  And 
yet,  as  we  must  live  among  riches,  business,  honours,  pleasures, 
feastings,  so  must  we  among  ceremonies,  that  is,  among  perils. 
Just  as  infant  boys  have  the  greatest  need  of  being  cherished 
in  the  bosoms  and  by  the  care  of  girls,  that  they  may  not  die  ; 
and  yet,  when  they  are  grown,  there  is  peril  to  their  salvation 
in  living  among  girls ;  so  inexperienced  and  fervid  young  men 
require  to  be  kept  in  and  restrained  by  the  barriers  of  cere- 
monies, even  were  they  of  iron,  lest  their  weak  mind  should 


136  LUTHER'S    PRIMARY  WORKS 

rush  headlong  into  vice.  And  yet  it  would  be  death  to  them 
to  persevere  in  believing  that  they  can  be  justified  by  these 
things.  They  must  rather  be  taught  that  they  have  been  thus 
imprisoned,  not  with  the  purpose  of  their  being  justified  or 
gaining  merit  in  this  way,  but  in  order  that  they  might  avoid 
wrong  doing,  and  be  more  easily  instructed  in  that  righteous- 
ness which  is  by  faith ;  a  thing  which  the  headlong  character 
of  youth  would  not  bear,  unless  it  were  put  under  restraint. 

Hence  in  the  Christian  life  ceremonies  are  to  be  no  other- 
wise looked  upon  than  builders  and  workmen  look  upon  those 
preparations  for  building  or  working  which  are  not  made  with 
any  view  of  being  permanent  or  anything  in  themselves,  but  only 
because  without  them  there  could  be  no  building  and  no  work. 
When  the  structure  is  completed,  they  are  laid  aside.  Here 
you  see  that  we  do  not  contemn  these  preparations,  but  set 
the  highest  value  on  them ;  a  belief  in  them  we  do  contemn, 
because  no  one  thinks  that  they  constitute  a  real  and  permanent 
structure.  If  any  one  were  so  manifestly  out  of  his  senses 
as  to  have  no  other  object  in  life  but  that  of  setting  up 
these  preparations  with  all  possible  expense,  diligence,  and 
perseverance,  while  he  never  thought  of  the  structure  itself, 
but  pleased  himself  and  made  his  boast  of  these  useless  prepa- 
rations and  props ;  should  we  not  all  pity  his  madness,  and 
think  that,  at  the  cost  thus  thrown  away,  some  great  building 
might  have  been  raised  ? 

Thus  too  we  do  not  contemn  works  and  ceremonies  ;  nay,  we 
set  the  highest  value  on  them  ;  but  we  contemn  the  belief  in 
works,  which  no  one  should  consider  to  constitute  true  right- 
jeousness ;  as  do  those  hypocrites  who  employ  and  throw  away 
(their  whole  life  in  the  pursuit  of  works,  and  yet  never  attain 
to  that  for  the  sake  of  which  the  works  are  done.  As  the 
Apostle  says,  they  are  "  ever  learning,  and  never  able  to  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth."  (2  Tim.  iii.  7).  They  appear 
to  wish  to  build,  they  make  preparations,  and  yet  they  never 
do  build ;  and  thus  they  continue  in  a  show  of  godliness,  but 
never  attain  to  its  power. 

Meanwhile  they  please  themselves  with  this  zealous  pursuit, 
and  even  dare  to  judge  all  others,  whom  they  do  not  see  adorned 
with  such  a  glittering  display  of  works  ;  while,  if  they  had  been 
imbued  with  faith,  they  might  have  done  great  things  for  their 


ON   CHRISTIAN   LIBERTY  137 

own  and  others'  salvation,  at  the  same  cost  which  they  now 
waste  in  abuse  of  the  gifts  of  God.  But  since  human  nature 
and  natural  reason,  as  they  call  it,  are  naturally  superstitious, 
and  quick  to  believe  that  justification  can  be  attained  by  any 
laws  or  works  proposed  to  them  ;  and  since  nature  is  also 
exercised  and  confirmed  in  the  same  view  by  the  practice  of  all 
earthly  lawgivers,  she  can  never,  of  her  own  power,  free  herself 
from  this  bondage  to  works,  and  come  to  a  recognition  of  the 
liberty  of  faith. 

We  have  therefore  need  to  pray  that  God  will  lead  us,  and 
make  us  taught  of  God,  that  is,  ready  to  learn  from  God ;  and 
will  Himself,  as  He  has  promised,  write  His  law  in  our  hearts  ; 
otherwise  there  is  no  hope  for  us.  For  unless  He  himself  teach 
us  inwardly  this  wisdom  hidden  in  a  mystery,  nature  cannot  but 
condemn  it  and  judge  it  to  be  heretical.  She  takes  offence  at 
it  and  it  seems  folly  to  her ;  just  as  we  see  that  it  happened  of 
old  in  the  case  of  the  prophets  and  apostles  ;  and  just  as  blind 
and  impious  pontiffs,  with  their  flatterers,  do  now  in  my  case 
and  that  of  those  who  are  like  me ;  upon  whom,  together  with 
ourselves,  may  God  at  length  have  mercy,  and  lift  up  the 
light  of  His  countenance  upon  them,  that  we  may  know  His 
way  upon  earth  and  His  saving  health  among  all  nations,  Who 
is  blessed  for  evermore.  Amen.  In  the  year  of  the  Lord 
MDXX. 


Ill 

ON  THE  BABYLONISH  CAPTIVITY  OF  THE 
CHUKCH 


(     141      ) 


ON 

THE  BABYLONISH  CAPTIVITY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Jesus. 

Martin  Luther,  of  the  Order  of  St.  Augustine,  salutes  his 
friend  Hermann  Tulichius. 

Whether  I  will  or  not,  I  am  compelled  to  become  more 
learned  day  by  day,  since  so  many  great  masters  vie  with  each 
other  in  urging  me  on  and  giving  me  practice.  I  wrote  about 
indulgences  two  years  ago,  but  now  I  extremely  regret  having 
published  that  book.  At  that  time  I  was  still  involved  in  a 
great  and  superstitious  respect  for  the  tyranny  of  Koine,  which 
led  me  to  judge  that  indulgences  were  not  to  be  totally 
rejected,  seeing  them,  as  I  did,  to  be  approved  by  so  general  a 
consent  among  men.  And  no  wonder,  for  at  that  time  it  was  I 
alone  who  was  rolling  this  stone.  Afterwards,  however,  with  the 
kind  aid  of  Sylvester  and  the  friars,  who  supported  indulgences 
so  strenuously,  I  perceived  that  they  were  nothing  but  mere 
impostures  of  the  flatterers  of  Koine,  whereby  to  make  away  with 
the  faith  of  God  and  the  money  of  men.  And  I  wish  I  could 
prevail  upon  the  booksellers,  and  persuade  all  who  have  read 
them,  to  burn  the  whole  of  my  writings  on  indulgences,  and  in 
place  of  all  I  have  written  about  them  to  adopt  this  proposition  : 
Indulgences  are  wicked  devices  of  the  flatterers  of  Rome. 

After  this,  Eccius  and  Emser,  with  their  fellow-conspirators, 
began  to  instruct  me  concerning  the  primacy  of  the  Pope. 
Here  too,  not  to  be  ungrateful  to  such  learned  men,  I  must 
confess  that  their  works  helped  me  on  greatly  ;  for,  while  I 
had  denied  that  the  Papacy  had  any  divine  right,  I  still 
admitted  that  it  had  a  human  right.  But  after  hearing  and 
'  -  reading  the  super-subtle  subtleties  of  those  coxcombs,  by  which 
they  so  ingeniously  set  up  their  idol — my  mind  being  not 
entirely  unteachable  in  such  matters — I  now  know  and  am  sure 


142  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY    WORKS 

that  the  Papacy  is  the  kingdom  of  Babylon,  and  the  power  of 
Nirnrod  the  mighty  hunter.  Here  moreover,  that  all  may  go 
prosperously  with  my  friends,  I  entreat  the  booksellers,  and 
entreat  my  readers,  to  burn  all  that  I  have  published  on  this 
subject,  and  to  hold  to  the  following  proposition  : 

The  Papacy  is  the  mighty  hunting  of  the  Bishop  of  Eome. 

This  is  proved  from  the  reasonings  of  Eccius,  of  Emser,  and 
of  the  Leipzig  lecturer  on  the  Bible. 

At  the  present  time  they  are  playing  at  schooling  me  con- 
cerning communion  in  both  kinds,  and  some  other  subjects  of 
the  greatest  importance.  I  must  take  pains  not  to  listen  in 
vain  to  these  philosophical  guides  of  mine.  A  certain  Italian 
friar  of  Cremona  has  written  a  "  Kevocation  of  Martin  Luther  to 
the  Holy  See  " — that  is  to  say,  not  that  I  revoke,  as  the  words 
imply,  but  that  he  revokes  me.  This  is  the  sort  of  Latin  that 
the  Italians  nowadays  are  beginning  to  write.  Another  friar, 
a  German  of  Leipzig,  Lecturer,  as  you  know,  on  the  whole 
canon  of  the  Bible,  has  written  against  me  concerning  the 
Sacrament  in  both  kinds,  and  is  about,  as  I  hear,  to  do  still 
greater  and  wonderful  wonders.  The  Italian  indeed  has 
cautiously  concealed  his  name ;  perhaps  alarmed  by  the 
examples  of  Cajetan  and  Sylvester.  The  man  of  Leipzig, 
however,  as  befits  a  vigorous  and  fierce  German,  has  set  forth 
in  a  number  of  verses  on  his  title-page,  his  name,  his  life,  his 
sanctity,  his  learning,  his  office,  his  glory,  his  honour,  almost 
his  very  shoe-lasts.  From  him  no  doubt  I  shall  learn  not  a 
little,  since  he  writes  a  letter  of  dedication  to  the  very  Son 
of  God ;  so  familiar  are  these  saints  with  Christ,  who  reigns  in 
heaven.  In  short,  three  magpies  seem  to  be  addressing  me,  one, 
a  Latin  one,  well ;  another,  a  Greek  one,  still  better ;  the  third, 
a  Hebrew  one,  best  of  all.  What  do  you  think  I  have  to  do 
now,  my  dear  Hermann,  but  to  prick  up  my  ears  ?  The  matter 
is  handled  at  Leipzig  by  the  Observants  of  the  Holy  Cross. 

Hitherto  I  have  foolishly  thought  that  it  would  be  an 
excellent  thing,  if  it  were  determined  by  a  General  Council,  that 
both  kinds  in  the  Sacrament  should  be  administered  to  the 
laity.  To  correct  this  opinion,  this  more  than  most  learned 
friar  says  that  it  was  neither  commanded  nor  decreed,  whether 
by  Christ  or  by  the  Apostles,  that  both  kinds  should  be 
administered  to  the  laity ;  and  that  it  has  therefore  been  left 


THE    BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY 

to  the  judgment  of  the  Church,  which  we  are  bound  to  obey, 
what  should  be  done  or  left  undone  on  this  point.  Thus 
speaks  he.  You  ask,  perhaps,  what  craze  has  possession  of  the 
man,  or  against  whom  he  is  writing  ;  since  I  did  not  condemn 
the  use  of  one  kind,  and  did  leave  it  to  the  judgment  of  the 
Church  to  ordain  the  use  of  both  kinds.  And  this  he  himself 
endeavours  to  assert,  with  the  object  of  combating  me  by  this 
very  argument.  I  reply,  that  this  kind  of  argument  is  a 
familiar  one  with  all  who  write  against  Luther;  namely,  either 
to  assert  the  very  thing  which  they  attack,  or  to  set  up  a 
figment  that  they  may  attack  it.  Thus  did  Sylvester,  Eccius, 
Emser,  the  men  of  Cologne  too,  and  those  of  Louvain.  If  this 
friar  had  gone  back  from  their  spirit,  he  would  not  have 
written  against  Luther. 

A  greater  piece  of  good  fortune,  however,  has  befallen  this 
man  than  any  of  the  others.  Whereas  he  intended  to  prove 
that  the  use  of  one  kind  had  neither  been  commanded  nor 
decreed,  but  left  to  the  decision  of  the  Church,  he  brings 
forward  Scriptures  to  prove  that,  by  the  command  of  Christ, 
the  use  of  one  kind  was  ordained  for  the  laity.  Thus  it  is 
true,  according  to  this  new  interpreter  of  Scripture,  that  the 
use  of  one  kind  was  not  commanded,  and  at  the  same  time  was 
commanded,  by  Christ.  You  know  how  specially  those  logicians 
of  Leipzig  employ  this  new  kind  of  argument.  Does  not 
Emser  also,  after  having  professed  in  his  former  book  to 
speak  fairly  about  me,  and  after  having  been  convicted  by  me 
of  the  foulest  envy  and  of  base  falsehoods,  confess,  when 
about  to  confute  me  in  his  later  book,  that  both  were  true,  and 
that  he  had  written  of  me  in  both  an  unfair  and  a  fair  spirit  ? 
A  good  man  indeed,  as  you  know ! 

But  listen  to  our  specious  advocate  of  one  species,  in  whose 
mind  the  decision  of  the  Church  and  the  command  of  Christ 
are  the  same  thing  ;  and  again  the  command  of  Christ  and  the 
absence  of  his  command  are  the  same  thing.  With  what 
dexterity  he  proves  that  only  one  kind  should  be  granted  to 
the  laity,  by  the  command  of  Christ,  that  is,  by  the  decision  of 
the  Church  !  He  marks  it  with  capital  letters  in  this  way, 
"  AN  INFALLIBLE  FOUNDATION."  Next  he  handles  with 
incredible  wisdom  the  sixth  chapter  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John, 
in  which  Christ  speaks  of  the  bread  of  heaven  and  the  bread  of 


±  LUTHER'S    PRIMARY   WORKS 

life,  which  is  Himself.  These  words  this  most  learned  man  not 
only  misapplies  to  the  Sacrament  of  the  Altar,  but  goes  farther, 
and,  because  Christ  said :  "  I  am  the  living  bread,"  and  not : 
"  I  am  the  living  cup,"  he  concludes  that  in  that  passage  the 
sacrament  in  only  one  kind  was  appointed  for  the  laity.  But 
the  words  that  follow  :  "  My  flesh  is  meat  indeed,  and  my 
blood  is  drink  indeed ;  "  and  again,  "  Unless  ye  eat  the  flesh  of 
the  Son  of  Man  and  drink  his  blood" — since  it  was  evident  to 
this  friar's  brains  that  they  tell  irrefutably  in  favour  of 
reception  in  both  kinds,  and  against  that  in  one  kind — he 
evades  very  happily  and  learnedly  in  this  way  :  "  That  Christ 
meant  nothing  else  by  these  words,  than  that  he  who  should 
receive  one  kind,  should  receive  under  this  both  the  body  and 
the  blood."  This  he  lays  down  as  his  infallible  foundation  of  a 
structure  so  worthy  of  holy  and  heavenly  reverence. 

Learn  now,  along  with  me,  from  this  man,  that  in  the  sixth 
chapter  of  St.  John  Christ  commands  reception  in  one  kind, 
but  in  such  a  manner  that  this  commanding  means  leaving  the 
matter  to  the  decision  of  the  Church  ;  and  further,  that  Christ 
in  the  same  chapter  speaks  of  the  laity  only,  not  of  the 
presbyters.  For  to  us  this  living  bread  from  heaven,  that  is, 
the  sacrament  in  one  kind,  does  not  belong,  but^  perchance  the 
bread  of  death  from  hell.  Now  what  is  to  be  done  with  the 
deacons  and  sub- deacons  ?  As  they  are  neither  laymen  nor 
priests,  they  ought,  on  this  distinguished  authority,  to  use 
neither  one  nor  both  kinds.  You  understand,  my  dear 
Tulichius,  this  new  and  observant  manner  of  handling  Scripture. 
But  you  must  also  learn  this,  that  Christ,  in  the  sixth  chapter 
of  St.  John,  is  speaking  of  the  sacrament  of  the  Eucharist ; 
though  He  Himself  teaches  us  that  He  is  speaking  of  faith  in 
the  incarnate  word,  by  saying  :  "  This  is  the  work  of  Grod,  that 
ye  believe  in  him  whom  He  hath  sent."  But  this  Leipzig 
professor  of  the  Bible  must  be  permitted  to  prove  whatever  he 
pleases  out  of  any  passage  of  Scripture  he  pleases.  For  he  is 
an  Anaxagorean,  nay,  an  Aristotelian  theologian,  to  whom 
names  and  words  when  transposed  mean  the  same  things  and 
everything.  Throughout  his  whole  book  he  so  fits  together 
the  testimonies  of  Scripture,  that,  if  he  wishes  to  prove  that 
Christ  is  in  the  sacrament,  he  ventures  to  begin  thus  :  "  The 
Lesson  of  the  book  of  the  Eevelation  of  the  blessed  John."    And 


THE    BABYLONISH    CAPTIVITY  145 

as  suitably  as  this  would  be  said,  so  suitably  does  be  say 
everything,  and  thinks,  like  a  wise  man,  to  adorn  his  ravings 
by  the  number  of  passages  he  brings  forward.  \  I 

I  pass  over  the  rest,  that  I  may  not  quite  kill  you  with  the  1/ 
"v  dregs  of  this  most  offensive  drain.  Lastly  he  adduces  Paul 
(1  Cor.  xi.),  who  says  that  he  had  received  from  the  Lord 
and  had  delivered  to  the  Corinthians  the  use  both  of  the 
bread  and  of  the  cup.  Here  again,  as  everywhere  else,  our 
advocate  of  one  species  handles  the  Scriptures  admirably,  and 
teaches  that  in  that  passage  Paul  permitted — not  "  delivered  " 
— the  use  of  both  kinds.  Do  you  ask  how  he  proves  it  ?  Out 
of  his  own  head,  as  in  the  case  of  the  sixth  chapter  of  John  ; 
for  it  does  not  become  this  lecturer  to  give  a  reason  for  what 
he  says,  since  he  is  one  of  those  whose  proofs  and  teachings  all 
come  from  their  own  visions.  Here  then  we  are  taught  that 
the  Apostle  in  that  passage  did  not  write  to  the  whole  church 
of  Corinth,  but  only  to  the  laity,  and  that  therefore  he  gave  no 
permission  to  the  priests,  but  that  they  were  deprived  of  the 
whole  sacrament ;  and  next,  that,  by  a  new  rule  of  grammar, 
"  I  have  received  from  the  Lord  "  means  the  same  thing  as  "  It 
has  been  permitted  by  the  Lord ;  "  and  "I  delivered  to  you"  the 
same  thing  as  "  I  permitted  to  you."  I  beg  you  especially  to 
note  this.  For  it  follows  hence  that  not  only  the  Church,  but 
every  worthless  fellow  anywhere  will  be  at  liberty,  under  the 
teaching  of  this  master,  to  turn  into  permissions  the  whole 
body  of  the  commandments,  institutions,  and  ordinances  of 
Christ  and  the  Apostles. 

I  see  that  this  man  is  possessed  by  an  angel  of  Satan,  and 
that  those  who  act  in  collusion  with  him  are  seeking  to  obtain 
a  name  in  the  world  through  me,  as  being  worthy  to  contend 
with  Luther.  But  this  hope  of  theirs  shall  be  disappointed, 
and,  in  my  contempt  for  them,  I  shall  leave  them  for  ever 
unnamed,  and  shall  content  myself  with  this  one  answer  to  the 
whole  of  their  books.  If  they  are  worthy  that  Christ  should 
bring  them  back  to  a  sound  mind,  I  pray  him  to  do  so  in  his 
mercy.  If  they  are  not  worthy  of  this,  then  I  pray  that  they 
may  never  cease  to  write  such  books,  and  that  the  enemies  of 
the  truth  may  not  be  permitted  to  read  any  others.  It  is  a 
common  and  true  saying :  "  This  I  know  for  certain,  that  if  I 
fight    with    filth,    whether    I    conquer    or    am    conquered,    I 


146  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY    WORKS 

am  sure  to  be  defiled."  In  the  next  place,  as  I  see  that  they 
have  plenty  of  leisure  and  of  paper,  I  will  take  care  that 
they  shall  have  abundant  matter  for  writing,  and  will  keep  in 
advance  of  them,  so  that  while  they,  in  the  boastfulness  of 
victory,  are  triumphing  over  some  one  heresy  of  mine,  as  it 
seems  to  them,  I  shall  meanwhile  be  setting  up  a  new  one. 
For  I  too  am  desirous  that  these  illustrious  leaders  in  war 
should  be  adorned  with  many  titles  of  honour.  And  so,  while 
they  are  murmuring  that  I  approve  of  communion  in  both 
kinds,  and  are  most  successfully  engaged  on  this  very  important 
subject,  so  worthy  of  themselves,  I  shall  go  farther,  and  shall 
now  endeavour  to  show  that  all  who  deny  to  the  laitv  com- 

/munion  in  both  kinds  are  acting  impiously.  To  do  this  the 
more  conveniently,  I  shall  make  a  first  essay  on  the  bondage  of 
the  Church  of  Eome ;  with  the  intention  of  saying  very  much 
more  in  its  own  proper  time,  when  those  most  learned  papists 
shall  have  got  the  better  of  this  book. 

This,  moreover,  I  do  in  order  that  no  pious  reader  who  may 
meet  with  my  book  may  be  disgusted  at  the  dross  I  have 
handled,  and  have  reason  to  complain  that  he  finds  nothing 
to  read  which  can  cultivate  or  instruct  his  mind,  or  at  least 
give  occasion  for  instructive  reflection.  You  know  how  dis- 
satisfied my  friends  are  that  I  should  occupy  myself  with  the 
paltry  twistings  of  these  men.  They  say  that  the  very 
reading  of  their  books  is  an  ample  confutation  of  them,  but 
that  from  me  they  look  for  better  things,  which  Satan  is 
trying  to  hinder  by  means  of  these  men.  I  have  determined 
to  follow  the  advice  of  my  friends,  and  to  leave  the  business  of 
wrangling  and  inveighing  to  those  hornets. 

Of  the  Italian  friar  of  Cremona  I  shall  say  nothing.     He  is  a 

I  simple  and  unlearned  man,  who  is  endeavouring  to  bring  me 
v  back  by  some  thongs  of  rhetoric  to  the  Holy  See,  from  which  I 
am  not  conscious  of  having  ever  withdrawn,  nor  has  any  one 
proved  that  I  have.  His  principal  argument  in  some  ridiculous 
passages  is,  that  I  ought  to  be  moved  for  the  sake  of  my 
profession,  and  of  the  transfer  of  the  imperial  power  to  the 
Germans.  He  seems  indeed  altogether  to  have  meant  not  so 
much  to  urge  my  return  as  to  write  the  praises  of  the  French 

j  and  of  the  Eoman  pontiff,  and  he  must  be  allowed  to  testify 

A>  his  obsequiousness  to  them  by  this  little  work,  such  as  it  is. 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  14. 

He  neither  deserves  to  be  handled  severely,  since  he  does  not 
seem  to  be  actuated  by  any  malice,  nor  to  be  learnedly  confuted, 
since  through  pure  ignorance  and  inexperience  he  trifles  with 
the  whole  subject. 

To  begin.  I  must  deny  that  there  are  seven  Sacraments,  **■" 
and  must  lay  it  down,  for  the  time  being,  that  there  are  only 
three,  baptism,  penance,  and  the  bread,  and  that  by  the  Court 
of  Ebme  all  these  have  been  brought  into  miserable  bondage, 
and  the  Church  despoiled  of  all  her  liberty.  And  yet,  if  I  were 
to  speak  according  to  the  usage  of  Scripture,  I  should  hold  that 
there  was  only  one  sacrament,  and  three  sacramental  signs.  1  ^1 
shall  speak  on  this  point  more  at  length  at  the  proper  time ; 
but  now  I  speak  of  the  sacrament  of  the  bread,  the  first  of  all 
sacraments. 

I  shall  say  then  what  advance  I  have  made  as  the  result  of 
my  meditations  in  the  ministry  of  this  sacrament.  For  at  the 
time  when  I  published  a  discourse  on  the  Eucharist  I  was  still 
involved  in  the  common  custom,  and  did  not  trouble  myself 
either  about  the  rightful  or  the  wrongful  power  of  the  Pope. 
But  now  that  I  have  been  called  forth  and  become  practised  in 
argument,  nay,  have  been  dragged  by  force  into  this  arena,  I 
shall  speak  out  freely  what  I  think.  Let  all  the  papists  laugh 
or  lament  against  me  alone. 

In  the  first  place,  the  sixth  chapter  of  John  must  be  set 
aside  altogether,  as  not  saying  a  single  syllable  about  the 
sacrament ;  not  only  because  the  sacrament  had  not  yet  been 
instituted,  but  much  more  because  the  very  sequence  of  the 
discourse  and  of  its  statements  shows  clearly  that  Christ  was 
speaking — as  I  have  said  before — of  faith  in  the  incarnate 
Word.  For  He  says  :  "  My  words,  they  are  spirit  and  they  are 
life ;  "  showing  that  He  was  speaking  of  that  spiritual  eating, 
wherewith  he  who  eats,  lives ;  while  the  Jews  understood 
Him  to  speak  of  a  carnal  eating,  and  therefore  raised  a  dispute.  / 
But  no  eating  gives  life,  except  the  eating  of  faith,  for  this  is 
the  really  spiritual  and  living  eating ;  as  Augustine  says  : 
"  Why  dost  thou  get  ready  thy  stomach  and  thy  teeth  ? 
Believe,  and  thou  hast  eaten."  A  sacramental  eating  does  not 
give  life,  for  many  eat  unworthily,  so  that  Christ  cannot  be 
understood  to  have  spoken  of  the  sacrament  in  this  passage. 

There  are  certainly  some  who  have  misapplied  these  words 

L 


i48  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY    WORKS 

to  the  sacrament,  as  did  the  writer  of  the  decretals  some  time 
ago,  and  many  others.  It  is  one  thing,  however,  to  misapply 
the  Scriptures,  and  another  to  take  them  in  their  legitimate 
sense ;  otherwise,  when  Christ  says  :  "  Except  ye  eat  my  flesh, 
and  drink  my  blood,  ye  have  no  life  in  you,"  He  would  be 
condemning  all  infants,  all  the  sick,  all  the  absent,  and  all 
who  were  hindered  in  whatever  manner  from  a  sacramental 
eating,  however  eminent  their  faith,  if  in  these  words  He  had 
meant  to  enjoin  a  sacramental  eating.  Thus  Augustine,  in  his 
second  book  against  Julianus,  proves  from  Innocentius  that 
even  infants,  without  receiving  the  sacrament,  eat  the  flesh 
and  drink  the  blood  of  Christ ;  that  is,  partake  in  the  same 
faith  as  the  Church.  Let  this  then  be  considered  as  settled, 
that  the  sixth  chapter  of  John  has  nothing  to  do  with  the 
matter.  For  which  reason  I  have  written  elsewhere  that  the 
Bohemians  could  not  rightfully  depend  upon  this  passage  in 
their  defence  of  reception  in  both  kinds. 


CONCERNING  THE  LORD'S  SUPPER 

There  are  ^twojmssages  which  treat  in  the  clearest  manner  of 
this  subject,  and  at  which  we  shall  look, — the  statements  in  the 
Gospels  respecting  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  the  words  of  Paul. 
(1  Cor.  xi.)  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke  agree  that  Christ 
gave  the  whole  sacrament  to  all  His  disciples ;  and  that  Paul 
taught  both  parts  of  it  is  so  certain,  that  no  one  has  yet  been 
shameless  enough  to  assert  the  contrary.  Add  to  this,  that 
according  to  the  relation  of  Matthew,  Christ  did  not  say 
concerning  the  bread,  "  Eat  ye  all  of  this,"  but  did  say  con- 
cerning the  cup,  "  Drink  ye  all  of  this."  Mark  also  does  not 
say,  "  they  all  ate,"  but  "  they  all  drank  of  it."  Each  writer 
~  attaches  the  mark  of  universality  to  the  cup,  not  to  the  bread ; 
as  if  the  Spirit  foresaw  the  schism  that  should  come,  and 
should  forbid  to  some  that  communion  in  the  cup  which  Christ 
would  have  common  to  all.  How  furiously  would  they  rave 
against  us,  if  they  had  found  the  word  "  all  "  applied  to  the 
bread,  and  not  to  the  cup.  They  would  leave  us  no  way  of 
escape,  would  clamour  us  down,  pronounce  us  heretics,  condemn 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  149 

us  as  schismatics.  But  when  the  word  stands  on  our  side  against 
thern,  they  allow  themselves  to  he  bound  by  no  laws  of  logic, 
these  men  of  freest  will,  whHe  they  change,  and  change  again, 
and  throw  into  utter  confusion  even  the  things  which  are 
of  God. 

But  suppose  me  to  be  standing  on  the  other  side  and 
questioning  my  lords  the  papists.  In  the  Supper  of  the  Lord, 
the  whole  sacrament,  or  the  sacrament  in  both  kinds,  was 
either  given  to  the  presbyters  alone,  or  at  the  same  time  to  the 
laity.  If  to  the  presbyters  alone  (for  thus  they  will  have  it  to 
be),  then  it  is  in  no  wise  lawful  that  any  kind  should  be  given 
to  the  laity ;  for  it  ought  not  to  be  rashly  given  to  any,  to 
whom  Christ  did  not  give  it  at  the  first  institution.  Other- 
--rwise,  if  we  allow  one  of  Christ's  institutions  to  be  changed,  we 
make  the  whole  body  of  His  laws  of  no  effect ;  and  any  man 
may  venture  to  say  that  he  is  bound  by  no  law  or  institution 
of  Christ.  For  in  dealing  with  Scripture  one  special  exception 
does  away  with  any  general  statement.  If  on  the  other  hand 
it  was  given  to  the  laity  as  well,  it  inevitably  follows,  that 
reception  in  both  kinds  ought  not  to  be  denied  to  the  laity  ; 
and  in  denying  it  to  them  when  they  seek  it,  we  act  impiously, 
and  contrary  to  the  deed,  example,  and  institution  of  Christ. 

I  confess  that  I  have  been  unable  to  resist  this  reasoning, 
and  have  neither  read,  heard  of,  nor  discovered  anything  to  be 
said  on  the  other  side,  while  the  words  and  example  of  Christ 
stand  unshaken,  who  says — not  by  way  of  permission,  but  of 
commandment — "  Drink  ye  all  of  this."  For  if  all  are  to  drink 
of  it,  and  this  cannot  be  understood  as  said  to  the  presbyters 
alone,  then  it  is  certainly  an  impious  deed  to  debar  the  laity 
from  it  when  they  seek  it,  were  it  even  an  angel  from  heaven 
who  did  so.  For  what  they  say  of  its  being  left  to  the  decision 
of  the  Church  which  kind  should  be  administered,  is  said  with- 
out rational  ground,  is  alleged  without  authority,  and  is  as 
easily  contemned  as  proved ;  nor  can  it  avail  against  an 
adversary  who  opposes  to  us  the  word  and  deed  of  Christ,  and 
whose  blows  must  therefore  be  returned  with  the  word  of 
Christ ;  and  this  we  have  not  on  our  side. 

If,  however,  either  kind  can  be  denied  to  the  laity,  then  by  I 
the   same   decision   of   the   Church  a   part  of  baptism  or  of 
penance  might  be  taken  from  them,  since  in  each  case  the 

l  2 


150  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY    WORKS 

reason  of  the  matter  and  the  power  are  alike.  Therefore  as 
the  whole  of  baptism  and  the  whole  of  absolution  are  to  be 
granted  to  all  the  laity,  so  is  the  whole  sacrament  of  the  bread, 
if  they  seek  it.  I  am  much  astonished,  however,  at  their 
assertion  that  it  is  wholly  unlawful,  under  pain  of  mortal  sin, 
for  presbyters  to  receive  only  one  kind  in  the  mass ;  and  this 
for  no  other  reason  than  that  (as  they  all  unanimously  say)  the  ^_ 
two  kinds  form  one  full  sacrament,  which  ought  not  to  be  ^ 
divided.  Let  them  tell  me,  then,  why  it  is  lawful  to  divide  it 
in  the  case  of  the  laity,  and  why  they  alone  should  not  be 
granted  the  entire  sacrament.  Do  they  not  admit,  on  their 
own  showing,  that  either  both  kinds  ought  to  be  granted  to  the 
laity,  or  that  it  is  no  lawful  sacrament  which  is  granted  to  them 
under  one  kind  ?  How  can  the  one  kind  be  a  full  sacrament 
in  the  case  of  the  laity,  and  not  a  full  one  in  the  case  of  the  ^ 
presbyters  ?  Why  do  they  vaunt  the  decision  of  the  Church  and 
the  power  of  the  Pope  in  this  matter  ?  The  words  of  God  and 
the  testimonies  of  truth  cannot  thus  be  done  away  with. 

It  follows  further  that,  if  the  Church  can  take  from  the 
laity  the  one  kind,  the  wine,  she  can  also  take  from  them  the 
other  kind,  the  bread,  and  thus  might  take  from  the  laity  the 
whole  Sacrament  of  the  Altar,  and  deprive  the  institution  of 
Christ  of  all  effect  in  their  case.  But,  I  ask,  by  what 
authority  ?  If,  however,  she  cannot  take  away  the  bread,  or 
both  kinds,  neither  can  she  the  wine.  Nor  can  any  possible 
argument  on  this  point  be  brought  against  an  opponent,  since 
the  Church  must  necessarily  have  the  same  power  in  regard  to 
either  kind  as  in  regard  to  both  kinds ;  if  she  has  it  not  as 
regards  both  kinds,  she  has  it  not  as  regards  either.  I  should 
like  to  hear  what  the  flatterers  of  Kome  may  choose  to  say  on 
this  point. 

But  what  strikes  me  most  forcibly  of  all,  and  thoroughly 
convinces  me,  is  that  saying  of  Christ :  "  This  is  my  blood, 
which  is  shed  for  you  and  for  many,  for  the  remission  of  sins." 
Here  you  see  most  clearly  that  the  blood  is  given  to  all  for 
whose  sins  it  is  shed.  Now  who  will  dare  to  say  that  it  was 
not  shed  for  the  laity  ?  Do  you  not  see  who  it  is  that  He 
addresses  as  He  gives  the  cup  ?  Does  He  not  give  it  to  all  ? 
Does  He  not  say  that  it  was  shed  for  all  ?  "  For  you,"  He  says. 
Let  us   grant  that   these  are  priests.     "  And  for  many,"  He 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  151 

continues.  These  cannot  be  priests  ;  and  yet  He  says  :  "  Drink 
ye  all  of  it."  I  also  could  easily  trifle  on  this  point,  and  turn 
the  words  of  Christ  into  a  mockery  by  my  words,  as  that  trifler 
my  opponent  does.  But  those  who  rest  upon  the  Scriptures 
in  arguing  against  us,  must  be  refuted  by  the  Scriptures. 
These  are  the  reasons  which  have  kept  me  from  condemning 
the  Bohemians,  who,  whether  they  be  good  or  bad  men, 
certainly  have  the  words  and  deeds  of  Christ  on  their  side, 
while  we  have  neither,  but  only  that  idle  device  of  men :  "  'I  he 
Church  hath  thus  ordered  it ;  "  while  it  was  not  the  Church, 
but  the  tyrants  of  the  churches,  without  the  consent  of  the 
Church,  that  is,  of  the  people  of  God,  who  have  thus  ordered  it. 

Now  where,  I  ask,  is  the  necessity,  where  is  the  religious 
obligation,  where  is  the  use,  of  denying  to  the  laity  reception 
in  both  kinds,  that  is,  the  visible  sign,  when  all  men  grant 
them  the  reality  of  the  sacrament  without  the  sign  ?  If  they 
grant  the  reality,  which  is  the  greater,  why  do  they  not 
grant  the  sign,  which  is  the  less  ?  For  in  every  sacrament  the 
sign,  in  so  far  as  it  is  a  sign,  is  incomparably  less  than  the  reality 
itself.  What  then,  I  ask,  should  hinder  the  granting  of  the 
lesser  thing,  when  the  greater  is  granted ;  unless  indeed,  as  it 
seems  to  me,  this  has  happened  by  the  permission  of  God  in 
His  anger,  to  be  the  occasion  of  a  schism  in  the  Church ;  and 
to  show  that,  having  long  ago  lost  the  reality  of  the  sacrament, 
we  are  fighting  on  behalf  of  the  sign,  which  is  the  lesser  thing, 
against  the  reality,  which  is  the  greatest  and  only  important 
thing ;  just  as  some  persons  fight  on  behalf  of  ceremonies 
against  charity.  This  monstrous  perversion  appears  to  have 
begun  at  the  same  time  at  which  we  began  in  our  folly  to 
set  Christian  charity  at  nought  for  the  sake  of  worldly  riches, 
that  God  might  show  by  this  terrible  proof  that  we  think 
signs  of  greater  consequence  than  the  realities  themselves. 
What  perversity  it  would  be,  if  you  were  to  concede  that  the 
faith  of  baptism  is  granted  to  one  seeking  baptism,  and  yet 
deny  him  the  sign  of  that  very  faith,  namely,  water. 

Last  of  all  stand  the  irrefutable  words  of  Paul,  which  must 
close  every  mouth  (1  Cor.  xi.) :  "I  have  received  of  the  Lord 
that  which  also  I  delivered  unto  you."  He  does  not  say,  as  this 
friar  falsely  asserts  out  of  his  own  head,  "  I  permitted  to  you." 
Nor  is  it  true  that  he  granted  the  Corinthians  reception  in 


152  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 


both  kinds  on  account  of  the  contentions  among  them.  In  the 
first  place,  as  the  text  itself  shows,  the  contention  was  not 
about  the  reception  in  both  kinds,  but  about  the  contemptuous- 
ness  of  the  rich  and  the  envy  of  the  poor,  as  is  clear  from  the 
text,  which  says  :  "  One  is  hungry  and  another  is  drunken,"  and, 
"  Ye  shame  them  that  have  not."  Then  too  he  is  not  speaking 
of  what  he  delivered  as  if  it  were  for  the  first  time.  He  does 
not  say :  "  I  receive  from  the  Lord  and  I  deliver  to  you,"  but 
"  I  have  received  and  I  have  delivered,"  namely,  at  the 
beginning  of  his  preaching,  long  before  this  contention  arose, 
thus  signifying  that  he  had  delivered  to  them  the  reception  in 
both  kinds.  This  "  delivering "  means  "  enjoining,"  as  he 
o  elsewhere  uses  the  same  word.  Thus  the  smoke  clouds  of 
assertion  which  this  friar  heaps  together  concerning  per- 
mission, without  Scripture,  without  reason,  and  without  cause, 
go  for  nothing.  His  opponents  do  not  ask  what  his  dreams 
are,  but  what  the  judgment  of  Scripture  is  on  these  points ; 
and  out  of  it  he  can  produce  not  a  tittle  in  support  of  his 
dream,  while  they  can  bring  forward  so  many  thunderbolts  in 
defence  of  their  belief. 

Rise  up  then  in  one  body,  all  ye  flatterers  of  the  Pope,  be 
active,  defend  yourselves  from  the  charge  of  impiety,  tyranny, 
and  treason  against  the  Gospel,  and  wrongful  calumniation  of 
your  brethreD,  ye  who  proclaim  as  heretics  those  who  cannot 
approve  of  the  mere  dreams  of  your  brains,  in  opposition  to 
such  plain  and  powerful  Scriptures.  If  either  of  the  two  are 
to  be  called  heretics  and  schismatics,  it  is  not  the  Bohemians, 
not  the  Greeks,  since  they  take  their  stand  on  the  Gospels ; 
1  but  you  Romans  who  are  heretics  and  impious  schismatics,  you 
who  presume  upon  your  own  figments  alone,  against  the 
manifest  teaching  of  the  Scriptures  of  God. 

But  what  can  be  more  ridiculous,  or  more  worthy  of  the 
head  of  this  friar,  than  to  say  that  the  Apostle  wrote  thus  and 
gave  this  permission  to  a  particular  church,  that  of  Corinth, 
but  not  to  the  universal  Church  ?  Whence  does  he  prove  this  ? 
Out  of  his  usual  store — his  own  impious  head.  When  the 
universal  Church  takes  this  epistle  as  addressed  to  itself,  reads 
it,  and  follows  it  in  every  respect,  why  not  in  this  part  of  it  ? 
If  we  admit  that  any  one  epistle  of  Paul,  or  one  passage  in  any 
\  one  epistle,   does   not   concern    the   universal    Church,   we   do 


THE   BABYLONISH  CAPTIVITY  153 

away  with  the  whole  authority  of  Paul.  The  Corinthians 
might  say  that  what  he  taught  concerning  faith,  in  writing  to 
the  Eornans,  did  not  concern  them.  What  could  be  more 
blasphemous  or  more  mad  than  this  mad  idea  ?  Far  be  it  from 
us  to  imagine  that  there  can  be  one  tittle  in  the  whole  of  Paul, 
which  the  whole  of  the  universal  Church  ought  not  to  imitate 
and  keep.  Not  thus  thought  the  Fathers,  nor  any  until  these 
perilous  times,  in  which  Paul  foretold  that  there  should  be 
blasphemers,  blind  and  senseless  men ;  among  whom  this  friar 
is  one,  or  even  the  foremost. 

But  let  us  grant  this  intolerably  wild  assertion.  If  Paul 
gave  permission  to  a  particular  church,  then,  on  your  own 
showing,  the  Greeks  and  the  Bohemians  are  acting  rightly,  for 
they  are  particular  churches,  and  therefore  it  is  enough  that 
they  are  not  acting  against  the'  teaching  of  Paul,  who  at  least 
gives  them  permission.  Furthermore,  Paul  had  not  power  to 
permit  of  anything  contrary  to  the  institution  of  Christ. 
Therefore,  on  behalf  of  the  Greeks  and  the  Bohemians,  I  set  up 
these  sayings  of  Christ  and  of  Paul  against  thee,  Borne,  and  all 
thy  flatterers ;  nor  canst  thou  show  that  power  has  been  given 
thee  to  change  these  things  by  one  hair's  breadth  ;  much  less  to 
accuse  others  of  heresy,  because  they  disregard  thy  presump- 
tuous pretensions.  It  is  thou  who  deservest  to  be  accused  of 
impiety  and  tyranny. 

We  also  read  the  words  of  Cyprian,  who  by  himself  is 
powerful  enough  to  stand  against  all  the  Bomanists,  and  who 
testifies  in  his  discourse  concerning  the  lapsed  in  the  fifth  book, 
that  it  had  been  the  custom  in  that  church  for  both  kinds  to  be 
administered  to  laymen  and  even  to  children  ;  yea,  for  the  body 
of  the  Lord  to  be  given  into  their  hands ;  as  he  shows  by  many 
instances.  Among  other  things  he  thus  reproves  some  of  the 
people  :  "  And  because  he  does  not  immediately  receive  the  body 
of  the  Lord  with  unclean  hands,  or  drink  the  blood  of  the  Lord 
with  polluted  mouth,  he  is  angry  with  the  priests  as  sacrile- 
gious." You  see  that  he  is  here  speaking  of  certain  sacrilegious 
laymen,  who  wished  to  receive  from  the  priests  the  body  and  the 
blood.  Have  you  here,  wretched  flatterer,  anything  to  gabble  ? 
Say  that  this  holy  martyr,  this  teacher  of  the  Church,  so  highly 
endowed  with  the  apostolic  spirit,  was  a  heretic,  and  availed 
himself  of  a  permission  in  his  particular  church  ! 


154  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

He  relates  in  the  same  place  an  incident  which  had  oc- 
curred in  his  own  sight  and  presence,  when  he  writes  in  the 
plainest  terms  that  as  deacon  he  had  given  the  cup  to  an  infant 

m  ,  girl,  and  when  the  child  struggled  against  it,  had  even 
•  poured  the  blood  of  the  Lord  into  its  mouth.  We  read  the 
same  thing  of  St.  Donatus,  whose  broken  cup  how  dully  does 
this  wretched  flatterer  try  to  get  rid  of.  "  I  read,"  he  says, 
"  that  the  cup  was  broken,  I  do  not  read  that  the  blood  was 
given."  What  wonder  that  he  who  perceives  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures  what  he  wills  to  perceive,  should  also  read  in  his- 
torical narratives  what  he  wills  to  read !  But  can  he  in  this 
way  at  all  establish  the  power  of  the  Church  to  decide,  or  can 
he  thus  confute  heretics  ?  But  enough  said  on  this  subject ; 
for  I  did  not  begin  this  treatise  in  order  to  answer  one  who  is 
unworthy  of  an  answer,  but  in  order  to  lay  open  the  truth  of 
the  matter. 

I  conclude,  then,  that  to  deny  reception  in  both  kinds  to  the 
laity  is  an  act  of  impiety  and  tyranny,  and  one  not  in  the 
power  of  any  angel,  much  less  of  any  Pope  or  Council  what- 
ever. Nor  do  I  care  for  the  Council  of  Constance,  for,  if  its 
authority  is  to  prevail,  why  should  not  also  that  of  the  Council 
of  Basle,  which  decreed  on  the  other  hand  that  the  Bohemians 
should  be  allowed  to  receive  in  both  kinds  ?  a  point  which  was 
carried  there  after  long  discussion,  as  the  extant  annals  and 
documents  of  that  Council  prove.  This  fact  that  ignorant 
flatterer  brings  forward  on  behalf  of  his  own  dreams,  so  wisely 
does  he  handle  the  whole  matter. 

—  The  first  bondage,  then,  of  this  sacrament  is  as  regards  its 
substance  or  completeness,  which  the  tyranny  of  Rome  has 
wrested  from  us.  Not  that  they  sin  against  Christ,  who  use 
one  kind  only,  since  Christ  has  not  commanded  the  use  of  any, 
but  has  left  it  to  the  choice  of  each  individual,  saying :  "  This 
do  ye,  as  oft  as  ye  shall  do  it,  in  remembrance  of  me ;  "  but 
they  sin  who  forbid  that  both  kinds  should  be  given  to  those 
who  desire  to  use  this  freedom  of  choice,  and  the  fault  is  not  in 
the  laity,  but  in  the  priests.  The  sacrament  does  not  belong  to 
the  priests,  but  to  all ;  nor  are  the  priests  lords,  but  servants, 
whose  duty  it  is  to  give  both  kinds  to  those  who  seek  them,  as 
often  as  they  seek  them.  If  they  have  snatched  this  right  from 
the  laity,  and  forcibly  denied,  it  to  them,  they  are  tyrants,  and 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  155 

the  laity  are  free  from  blame,  whether  they  go  without  one  or 

both  kinds  ;  for  meanwhile  they  will  be  saved  by  their  faith, 

and   by   their  desire  for  a  complete  sacrament.     So  too  the 

ministers  themselves  are  bound  to  grant  baptism  and  absolution 

to  him  who  seeks  them ;  if  they  do  not  grant  them,  the  seeker 

has  the  full  merit  of  his  own  faith,  while  they  will  be  accused 

before  Christ  as  wicked  servants.     Thus  of  old  the  holy  Fathers 

in  the  desert  passed  many  years  without  communicating  in 

either  kind  of  the  sacrament. 

Y      I  am  not,  therefore,  advocating  the  seizing  by  force  on  both 

kinds,  as  if  we  were  of  necessity  commanded  and  compelled  to 

receive  them,  but  I  am  instructing  the  conscience,  that  every 

v    man  may  endure  the  tyranny  of  Eome,  knowing  that  he  has 

been  forcibly  deprived  of  his  right  in  the  sacrament  on  account 

of  his  sins.      This  only  I  would  have,  that  none  should  justify 

the  tyranny  of  Eome,  as  if  she  had  done  right  in  denying  one 

kind  to  the  laity,  but  that  we  should  abhor  it,  and   withhold 

our  consent  from  it,  though  we  may  bear  it,  just  as  if  we  were 

in  bondage  with  the  Turk,  where  we  should  not  be  at  liberty  to 

use  either  kind.      For  this  reason  I  have  said  that  it  would  be 

a  fine  thing,  in  my  opinion,  if  this  bondage  were  done  away 

with  by  the  decree  of  a  general  council,  and  Christian  liberty 

restored  to  us  out  of  the  hands  of  the  tyrant  of  Eome ;  and  if 

to  each  man  were  left  his  own  free  choice  about  seeking  and 

using  it,  as  it  is  left  in  the  case  of  baptism  and  penance.     Now, 

however,  by   the   same    tyranny,  he  compels  one  kind  to  be 

received  year  by  year ;    so  extinct  is  the  liberty  granted  us  by 

Christ,  and  such  are  the  deserts  of  our  impious  ingratitude. 

The  other  bondage  of  the  same  sacrament  is  a  milder  one, , 
inasmuch  as  it  regards  the  conscience,  but  one  which  it  is  byi 
far  the  most  perilous  of  all  things  to  touch,  much  more  tol 
condemn.  Here  I  shall  be  a  Wicklifnte,  and  a  heretic  under; 
six  hundred  names.  What  then  ?  Since  the  Bishop  of  Eome  hasi 
ceased  to  be  a  bishop  and  has  become  a  tyrant,  I  fear  absolutely; 
none  of  his  decrees,  since  I  know  that  neither  he,  nor  even  a 
general  council,  has  power  to  establish  new  articles  of  the  faith. 

Formerly,  when  I  was  imbibing  the  scholastic  theology,  my 
lord  the  Cardinal  of  Cambray  gave  me  occasion  for  reflection,  by 
arguing  most  acutely,  in  the  fourth  book  of  the  Sentences,  that 
it  would  be  much  more  probable,  and  that  fewer  superfluous 


156  LUTHER'S    PRIMARY- WORKS 


*£ 


miracles  would  have  to  be  introduced,  if  real  bread  and  real 
wine,  and  not  only  their  accidents,  were  understood  to  be  upon 
the  altar,  unless  the  Church  had  determined  the  contrary. 
Afterwards,  when  I  saw  what  the  church  was,  which  had  thus 
determined,  namely,  the  Thomistic,  that  is,  the  Aristotelian 
Church,  I  became  bolder,  and  whereas  I  had  been  before  in 
great  straits  of  doubt,  I  now  at  length  established  my  con- 
science in  the  former  opinion,  namely,  that  there  were  real 
bread  and  real  wine,  in  which  were  the  real  flesh  and  real 
blood  of  Christ,  in  no  other  manner  and  in  no  less  degree  than 
the  other  party  assert  them  to  be  under  the  accidents.  And 
this  I  did,  because  I  saw  that  the  opinions  of  the  Thomists, 
whether  approved  by  the  Pope  or  by  a  council,  remained 
opinions,  and  did  not  become  articles  of  the  faith,  even  were  an 
angel  from  heaven  to  decree  otherwise.  For  that  which  is 
asserted  without  the  support  of  the  Scriptures,  or  of  an 
approved  revelation,  it  is  permitted  to  hold  as  an  opinion,  but 
it  is  not  necessary  to  believe.  Now  this  opinion  of  Thomas  is 
so  vague,  and  so  unsupported  by  the  Scriptures,  or  by  reason, 
that  he  seems  to  me  to  have  known  neither  his  philosophy  nor 
his  logic.  For  Aristotle  speaks  of  accidents  and  subject  very 
differently  from  St.  Thomas ;  and  it  seems  to  me  that  we 
ought  to  be  sorry  for  so  great  a  man,  when  we  see  him  striving, 
not  only  to  draw  his  opinions  on  matters  of  faith  from  Aristotle, 
but  to  establish  them  upon  an  authority  whom  he  did  not 
understand ;  a  most  unfortunate  structure  raised  on  a  most 
unfortunate  foundation. 

I  quite  consent  then  that  whoever  chooses  to  hold  either 
opinion  should  do  so.  My  only  object  now  is  to  remove  scruples 
of  conscience,  so  that  no  man  may  fear  being  guilty  of  heresy,  if 
he  believes  that  real  bread  and  real  wine  are  present  on  the 
altar.  Let  him  know  that  he  is  at  liberty,  without  peril  to  his 
salvation,  to  imagine,  think,  or  believe  in  either  of  the  two 
ways,  since  here  there  is  no  necessity  of  faith.  In  the  first 
place,  I  will  not  listen  to  those,  or  make  the  slightest  account 
of  them,  who  will  cry  out  that  this  doctrine  is  Wickliffite, 
Hussite,  heretical,  and  opposed  to  the  decisions  of  the  Church. 
None  will  do  this  but  those  whom  I  have  convicted  of  being 
themselves  in  many  ways  heretical,  in  the  matter  of  indulg- 
ences, of  free  will  and  the  grace  of  God,  of  good  works  and 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  157 

sins,  etc.  If  Wickliff  was  once  a  heretic,  they  are  themselves 
ten  times  heretics,  and  it  is  an  excellent  thing  to  be  blamed 
and  accused  by  heretics  and  perverse  sophists,  since  to  please 
them  would  be  the  height  of  impiety.  Besides,  they  can  give 
no  other  proof  of  their  own  opinions,  nor  have  they  any  other 
way  of  disproving  the  contrary  ones,  than  by  saying  :  "  This  is 
Wicklifnte,  Hussite,  heretical."  This  feeble  argument,  and  no 
other,  is  always  at  the  tip  of  their  tongue ;  and  if  you  ask  for 
Scripture  authority,  they  say  :  "  This  is  our  opinion,  and  the 
Church  has  decided  it  thus."  To  such  an  extent  do  men  who  are 
reprobate  concerning  the  faith,  and  unworthy  of  belief,  dare  to 
propose  to  us  their  own  fancies,  under  the  authority  of  the 
Church,  as  articles  of  the  faith. 

There  is,  however,  very  much  to  be  said  for  my  opinion ; 
in  the  first  place  this — that  no  violence  ought  to  be  done  to 
the  words  of  God,  neither  by  man,  nor  by  angel,  but  that,  as  far 
as  possible,  they  ought  to  be  kept  to  their  simplest  meanings 
and  not  to  be  taken,  unless  the  circumstances  manifestl 
compel  us  to  do  so,  out  of  their  grammatical  and  propel 
signification,  that  we  may  not  give  our  adversaries  an 
opportunity  of  evading  the  teaching  of  the  whole  Scripture 
For  this  reason  the  ideas  of  Origen  were  rightly  rejected,  when, 
in  contempt  of  the  plain  grammatical  meaning,  he  turned  the 
trees,  and  all  other  objects  described  as  existing  in  Paradise, 
into  allegories ;  since  hence  it  might  be  inferred  that  trees 
were  not  created  by  God.  So  in  the  present  case,  since  the 
Evangelists  write  clearly  that  Christ  took  bread  and  blessed  it, 
and^since  thebook  of  Acts  and  the  Apostle  Paul  also  call  itJ 
bread,  real  bread  and  real  wine  must  be  understood,  just  as  the 
cup  was  real.  For  oven  these  men  _do_not  sa^that  ^he  cugjs, 
transubstantiated.  Since  then  it  is  not  necessary  to  lay  it 
downThatTa  transubstantiation  is  effected  by  the  operation  of 
divine  power,  it  must  be  held  as  a  figment  of  human  opinion ; 
for  it  rests  on  no  support  of  Scripture  or  of  reason.  It  isJ 
forcing  on  us  a  novel  and  absurd  usage  of  words,  to  take  bread  as 
meaning  the  form  or  accidents  of  bread,  and  wine  as  the  form 
or  accidents  of  wine.  Why  do  they  not  take  all  other  things  as 
forms  or  accidents  ?  Even  if  everything  else  were  consistent 
with  this  idea,  it  would  not  be  lawful  thus  to  enfeeble  the  word 
of  God,  and  to  deprive  it  so  unjustly  of  its  proper  meaning. 


158  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

The  Church,  however,  kept  the  right  faith  for  more  than* 
\.      twelve  centuries,  nor  did  the  holy  EaJLh£rs_ever  or  anywJiexe| 
make  mention  of  this  transubstantiation  (a  portentousjKord-and  \ 
dream  indeed),  untlPtlie    counterfeit    Aristotelian  philosophy 
began  to  make  its  inroads  on   the  Church  within  these  last 
three    hundred   years,    during    which    many    other    erroneous 
conclusions   have   also   been   arrived   at,    such  as : — that   the 
Divine  essence  is  neither  generated  nor  generates;  that  the 
soul  is  the   substantial   form  of  the  human  body ;  and   other 
like  assertions,  which  are  made  absolutely  without  reason  or 
cause,  as  the  Cardinal  of  Cambray  himself  confesses. 

They  will  say,  perhaps,  that  we  shall  be  in  peril  of  idolatry  if 
we  do  not  admit  that  bread  and  wine  are  not  really  there.  This 
is  truly  ridiculous,  for  the  laity  have  never  learnt  the  subtle 
philosophical  distinction  between  substance  and  accidents  ;  nor, 
if  they  were  taught  it,  could  they  understand  it ;  and  there  is 
the  same  peril,  if  we  keep  the  accidents,  which  they  see,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  substance,  which  they  do  not  see.  For  if  it 
is  not  the  accidents  which  they  adore,  but  Christ  concealed 
under  them,  why  should  they  adore  the  substance,  which  they 
do  not  see  ? 

But  why  should  not  Christ  be  able  to  include  His  body 
within  the  substance  of  bread,  as  well  as  within  the  accidents  ? 
i  and  iron,  two  different  substances,  are  so  mingled  in  red- 
hot  iron,  that  every  part  of  it  is  both  fire  and  iron.  Why  may 
not  the  glorious  body  of  Christ  much  more  be  in  every  part  of 
the  substance  of  the  bread  ? 

Christ  is  believed  to  have  been  born  of  the  inviolate  womb 
of  his  mother.  In  this  case  too  let  them  say  that  the  flesh  of 
the  Virgin  was  for  a  time  annihilated ;  or,  as  they  will  have  it 
to  be  more  suitably  expressed,  transubstantiated,  that  Christ 
might  be  enwrapped  in  its  accidents,  and  at  length  come  forth 
through  its  accidents.  The  same  will  have  to  be  said  respecting 
the  closed  door  and  the  closed  entrance  of  the  tomb,  through 
both  of  which  He  entered,  and  went  out  without  injury  to  them. 
But  hence  has  sprung  that  Babylon  of  a  philosophy  concerning 
continuous  quantity,  distinct  from  substance,  till  things  have 
come  to  such  a  point,  that  they  themselves  do  not  know  what 
are  accidents,  and  what  is  substance.  For  who  has  ever 
proved  to  a  certainty  that  heat  and  cold,  colour,  light,  weight, 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  159 

and  form  are  accidents?  Lastly  they  have  been  driven  to 
pretend  that  Grod  creates  a  new  substance  additional  to  those 
accidents  on  the  altar,  on  account  of  the  saying  of  Aristotle, 
that  the  essence  of  an  accident  is  to  be  in  something ;  and 
have  been  led  to  an  infinity  of  monstrous  ideas,  from  all  of 
which  they  would  be  free,  if  they  simply  allowed  the  bread  on 
the  altar  to  be  real  bread.  I  rejoice  greatly,  that  at  least 
among  the  common  people  there  remains  a  simple  faith  in  this 
sacrament.  They  neither  understand  nor  argue  whether  there 
are  accidents  in  it  or  substance,  but  believe  with  simple  faith 
that  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  are  truly  contained  in  it, 
leaving  to  these  men  of  leisure  the  task  of  arguing  as  to  what 
it  contains. 

But  perhaps  they  will  say  that  we  are  taught  by  Aristotle 
that  we  must  take  the  subject  and  predicate  of  an  affirmative 
proposition  to  signify  the  same  thing  ;  or,  to  quote  the  words 
>  of  that  monster  himself  in  the  6th  book  of  his  Metaphysics, 
"  An  affirmative  proposition  requires  the  composition  of  the 
extremes ;"  which  they  explain  as  their  signifying  the  same 
thing.  Thus  in  the  words,  "  This  is  my  body,"  they  say  that 
we  cannot  take  the  subject  to  signify  the  bread,  but  the  body 
of  Christ. 

What   shall   we   say    to    this?      Whereas   we    are   making 
Aristotle  and  human  teachings  tlfce  censors  of  such  sublime  and 
divine  matters,  why  do  we  not  rather  cast  away  these  curious 
enquiries ;  and  simply  adhere  to  the  words  of  Christ,  willing  to 
be  ignorant  of  what  is  done  in  this  sacrament,  and  content  J 
to  know  that  the  real  body  of  Christ  is  present  in  it  by  virtue] 
of  the  words  of  consecration  ?     Is  it  necessary  to  comprehend' 
altogether  the  manner  of  the  Divine  working  ? 

But  what  do  they  say  to  Aristotle,  who  applies  the  term 
"subject"  to  all  the  categories  of  accidents,  although  he  takes. 
the  substance  to  be  the  first  subject  ?  Thus,  in  his  opinion, 
"  this  white,"  "  this  great,"  "  this  something,"  are  subjects, 
because  something  is  predicated  of  them.  If  this  is  true, 
and  if  it  is  necessary  to  lay  down  a  doctrine  of  tran- 
substantiation  in  order  that  it  may  not  be  asserted  of  the 
bread  that  it  is  the  body  of  Christ;  why,  I  ask,  is  not  a 
doctrine  of  transaccidentation  also  laid  down,  that  it  may  not 
be  affirmed  of  an  accident  that  it  is  the  body  of  Christ  ?     For 


160  LUTHER'S    PRIMARY    WORKS 

the  same  danger  remains,  if  we  regard  "  this  white  thing," 
or  "  this  round  thing  "  as  the  subject.  On  whatever  principle 
transubstantiation  is  taught,  on  the  same  ought  transacci- 
dentation  to  be  taught,  on  account  of  the  two  terms  of  the 
proposition,  as  is  alleged,  signifying  the  same  thing. 

If,  however,  by  a  high  effort  of  understanding,  you  make 
abstraction  of  the  accident,  and  refuse  to  regard  it  as  signified 
by  the  subject  in  saying :  "  This  is  my  body,"  why  can  you  not 
as  easily  rise  above  the  substance  of  the  bread,  and  refuse  to 
let  it  be  understood  as  signified  by  the  subject ;  so  that  "  this 
is  my  body  "  may  be  true  in  the  substance  no  less  than  in  the 
accident  ?  Especially  so  since  this  is  a  divine  work  of  almighty 
power,  which  can  operate  to  the  same  extent  and  in  the  same 
way  in  the  substance,  as  it  can  in  the  accident. 

But,  not  to  philosophize  too  far,  does  not  Christ  appear  to  have 
met  these  curious  enquiries  in  a  striking  manner,  when  He 
said  concerning  the  wine,  not,  " Hoe  est  sanguis  mens"  but 
"  Hie  est  sanguis  meus."  He  speaks  much  more  clearly  still 
when  He  brings  in  the  mention  of  the  cup,  saying :  "  This  cup 
is  the  New  Testament  in  my  blood."  (1  Cor.  xi.)  Does  He 
not  seem  to  have  meant  to  keep  us  within  the  bounds  of  simple 
faith,  just  so  far  as  to  believe  that  His  blood  is  in  the  cup  ? 

/"if,  for  my  part,  I  cannot  understand  how  the  bread  can  be  the 
body  of  Christ,  I  will  bring  my  understanding  into  captivity 
to  the  obedience  of  Christ,  and  firmly  believe,  in  simple  adher- 
ence to  His  word,  not  only  that  the  body  of  Christ  is  in  the 

\bread,  but  that  the  bread  is  the  body  of  Christ.  For  so  shall 
\  be  kept  safe  by  his  words,  where  it  is  said :  "  Jesus  took 
bread,  and  blessed  it,  and  brake  it,  and  said,  Take,  eat,  this 
(that  is,  this  bread,  which  He  had  taken  and  broken)  is  my 
body."  Paul  also  says  :  "  The  bread  which  we  break,  is  it  not 
the  communion  of  the  body  of  Christ  ?  "  He  does  not  say  that 
the  communion  is  in  the  bread,  but  that  the  bread  itself  is  the 
communion  of  the  body  of  Christ.  What  if  philosophy  does 
not  understand  these  things  ?  The  Holy  Spirit  is  greater  than 
Aristotle.  Does  it  even  understand  the  transubstantiation 
which  these  men  speak  of,  seeing  that  they  themselves  confess 
that  all  philosophy  breaks  down  on  this  point  ?  The  reason 
why,  in  the  Greek  and  Latin,  the  pronoun  this  is  referred  to 
the  body,  is  that  the  genders  are  alike ;  but  in  the  Hebrew, 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  161 

where  there  is  no  neuter  gender,  it  is  referred  to  the  bread  ; 
so  that  we  might  properly  say  :  "  This  (bread)  is  my  body." 
Both  the  usage  of  language  and  common  sense  prove  that  the 
subject  points  to  the  bread,  and  not  to  the  body,  when  He 
says,  Hoe  est  corpus  meum,  that  is,  this  bread  is  my  body. 

As  then  the  case  is  with  Christ  Himself,  so  is  it  also  with  ^ 
sacrament.  For  it  is  not  necessary  to  the  bodily  indwelling  o\ 
the  Godhead  thaTthe "human  n^ture'shouhT be  transubstantiated,, 
that  so  the  Godhead  may  be  contained  beneath  the  accidents 
of  the  human  nature.  But  each  nature  is  entire,  and  we  can 
say  with  truth:  This  man  is  God  ;  this  God  is  man.  Though 
philosophy  does  not  receive  this,  yet  faith  receives  it,  and 
greater  is  the  authority  of  the  word  of  God,  than  the  capacity- 
of  our  intellect.  Thus  too  in  the  sacrament,  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  the  presence  of  the  real  body  and  real  blood,  that  the 
bread  and  wine  should  be  transubstantiated,  so  that  Christ 
may  be  contained  beneath  the  accidents ;  but  while  both  bread 
and  wine  continue  there,  it  can  be  said  with  truth,  "  this  breaj, 
is  my  body,  this  wine  is  my  blood,"  and  conversely.  Thus 
will  I  understand  this  matter  in  honour  of  the  holy  words  of 
God,  which  I  will  not  allow  to  have  violence  done  them  by  the 
petty  reasonings  of  men,  or  to  be  distorted  into  meanings  alien 
to  them.  I  give  leave,  however,  to  others  to  follow  the  other 
opinion,  which  is  distinctly  laid  down  in  the  decretal,  provided 
.  only  (as  I  have  said)  they  do  not  press  us  to  accept  their 
!  opinions  as  articles  of  faith. 

The  third  bondage  of  this  same  sacrament  is  that  abuse  of  it 
■ — and  by  far  the  most  impious — by  which  it  has  come  about 
that  at  this  day  there  is  no  belief  in  the  Church  more  generally 
received  or  more  firmly  held  than  that  the  mass  is  a  good 
work  and  a  sacrifice.      This  abuse  has  brought  in  an  infinite 
flood  of  other  abuses,  until  faith   in  the  sacrament  has   been  j 
utterly  lost,  and  they  have  made  this  divine  sacrament  a  mere  J  ' 
subject  of  traffic,  huckstering,  and  money-getting   contracts./ 
Hence    communions,    brotherhoods,    suffrages,    merits,    anni- 
versaries, memorials,  and  other  things  of  that  kind  are  bought 
and  sold  in  the  Church,  and  made  the  subjects  of  bargains  and 
agreements ;  and  the  entire  maintenance  of  priests  and  monks 
depends  upon  these  things. 

I  am  entering  on  an  arduous  task,  and  it  may  perhaps  be 


162  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY    WORKS 

impossible  to  uproot  an  abuse  which,  strengthened  by  the 
practice  of  so  many  ages,  and  approved  by  universal  consent, 
as  fixed  itself  so  firmly  among  us,  that  the  greater  part  of  the 
ooks  which  have  influence  at  the  present  day  must  needs  be 
done  away  with,  and  almost  the  entire  aspect  of  the  churches 
be  changed,  and  a  totally  different  kind  of  ceremonies  be 
brought  in,  or  rather,  brought  back.  But  my  Christ  lives,  and 
e  must  take  heed  to  the  word  t>f  God  with  greater  care,  than 
o  all  the  intellects  of  men  and  angels.  I  will  perform 
my  part,  will  bring  forth  the  subject  into  the  light,  and  will 
impart  the  truth  freely  and  ungrudgingly  as  I  have  received 
it.  For  the  rest,  let  every  one  look  to  his  own  salvation  ;  I 
will  strive,  as  in  the  presence  of  Christ  my  judge,  that  no  man 
may  be  able  to  throw  upon  me  the  blame  of  his  own  unbelief 
and  ignorance  of  the  truth. 

Concerning  the  Sacrament  of  the  Altar.  To  begin, — if  we 
wish  to  attain  safely  and  prosperously  to  the  true  and  free 
knowledge  of  this  sacrament,  we  must  take  the  utmost  care  to 
put  aside  all  that  has  been  added  by  the  zeal  or  the  notions 
of  men  to  the  primitive  and  simple  institution ;  such  as 
vestments,  ornaments,  hymns,  prayers,  musical  instruments, 
lamps,  and  all  the  pomp  of  visible  things ;  and  must  turn  our 
eyes  and  our  attention  only  to  the  pure  institution  of  Christ ; 
and  set  nothing  else  before  us  but  those  very  words  of  Christ, 
with  which  He  instituted  and  perfected  that  sacrament,  and 
committed  it  to  us.  In  that  word,  and  absolutely  in  nothing 
else,  lies  the  whole  force,  nature,  and  substance  of  the  mass. 
All  the  rest  are  human  notions,  accessory  to  the  word  of 
Christ ;  and  the  mass  can  perfectly  well  subsist  and  be  kept  up 
without  them.  Now  the  words  in  which  Christ  instituted  this 
sacrament  are  as  follows  : — While  they  were  at  supper  Jesus 
took  bread,  and  blessed  it,  and  brake  it,  and  gave  it  to  His 
disciples,  and  said  :  "  Take,  eat ;  this  is  my  body  which  is  given 
for  you."  And  He  took  the  cup,  and  gave  thanks,  and  gave  it 
to  them,  saying :  "  Drink  ye  all  of  this ;  this  cup  is  the  New 
Testament  in  my  blood,  which  is  shed  for  you  and  for  many  for 
the  remission  of  sins ;  do  this  in  remembrance  of  me." 

These  words  the  Apostle  Paul  (1  Cor.  xi.)  also  delivers  to 
us  and  explains  at  greater  length.  On  these  we  must  rest,  and 
build  ourselves  up  as  on  a   firm  rock,  unless  we  wish  to  be 


THE    BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  163 

earned  about  with  every  wind  of  doctrine,  as  we  have  hitherto 
been,  through  the  impious  teachings  of  men  who  pervert  the 
truth.  For  in  these  words  nothing  has  been  omitted  which 
pertains  to  the  completeness,  use,  and  profit  of  this  sacrament ; 
and  nothing  laid  down  which  it  is  superfluous  or  unnecessary 
for  us  to  know.  He  who  passes  over  these  words  in  his  medi- 
tations or  teachings  concerning  the  mass  will  teach  monstrous 
impieties ;  as  has  been  done  by  those  who  have  made  an  opus 
operatum  and  a  sacrifice  of  it. 

Let  this  then  stand  as  a  first  and  infallible  truth,  that  the 
mass  or  Sacrament  of  the  Altar  is  the  testament  of  Christ,    ""* 
which  He  left  behind  Him  at  His  death,  distributing  an  inherit-  p£S$ 
ance  to  those  who  believe  in  Him.     For  such  are  His  words :  | 
"  This  cup  is  the  new  testament  in  my  blood."     Let  this  truth, 
I  say,  stand  as  an  immovable  foundation,  on  which  we  shall 
erect   all  our  arguments.     You   will  see  how    we    shall    thus 
overthrow  all  the  impious  attacks  of  men  on  this  sweetest 
sacrament.     The  truthful  Christ,  then,  says  with  truth,  that 
this  is  the  new  testament  in  His  blood,  shed  for  us.     It  is  not 
without  cause  that  I  urge  this  ;  the  matter  is  no  small  one,  but 
must  be  received  into  the  depths  of  our  minds. 

If  then  we  enquire  what  a  testament  is,  we  shall  also  learn 
what  the  mass  is;  what  are  its  uses,  advantages,  abuses.     Aj  j 
testajii^nlJs^certainlyj^promise  made  by  a  man  about  to  die,/  J 
by"  which  he  assigns  his  inheritance  and  appoints  heirs.     Thus/ / 
the  idea  of  a  testament  implies,  first,  the  death  of  the  testator,  ' 
and  secondly,  the  promise  of  the  inheritance,  and  the  appoint- 
ment of  an  heir.     In  this  way  Paul  (Rom.  iv.  ;  Gal.  iii.,  iv. ; 
Heb.  ix.)  speaks  at  some  length  of  testaments.     We  also  see 
this  clearly  in  those  words  of  Christ.     Christ  testifies  of  His 
own  death,  when  He  says  :  "  This  is  my  body  which  is  given ; 
this  is  my  blood  which  is  shed."     He   assigns  and  points  out 
the  inheritance,  when  He  says :  "  For  the  remission  of  sins." 
And  He  appoints   heirs  when  He    says :    "  For   you  and   for 
many  ;  "  that  is,  for  those  who  accept  and  believe  the  promise 
of  the  testator  ;  for  it  is  faith  which  makes  us  heirs,  as  we 
shall  see. 

You  see  then  that  the  mass — as  we  call  it — is  a  promise  of  ~"^_ 
the  remission  of  sins,  made  to  us  by  God ;  and  such  a  promise 
as  has  been  confirmed  by  the  death  of  the  Son  of  God.     For  a 

M 


164  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

promise  and  a  testament  only  differ  in  this,  that  a  testament 
implies  the  death  of  the  promiser.  A  testator  is  a  promiser 
who  is  about  to  die ;  and  a  promiser  is,  so  to  speak,  a  testator 
who  is  about  to  live.  This  testament  of  Christ  was  prefigured 
in  all  the  promises  of  God  from  the  beginning  of  the  world ; 
yea  !  whatsoever  value  the  ancient  promises  had,  lay  in  that 
new  promise  which  was  about  to  be  made  in  Christ,  and  on 
which  they  depended.  Hence  the  words,  "  agreement,  cove- 
nant, testament  of  the  Lord,"  are  constantly  employed  in  the 
Scriptures  ;  and  by  these  it  was  implied  that  God  was  about  to 
die.  "  For  where  a  testament  is,  there  must  also  of  necessity 
be  the  death  of  the  testator."  (Heb.  ix.  16.)  God  having 
made  a  testament,  it  was  necessary  that  He  should  die.  Now 
He  could  not  die,  unless  He  became  a  man  ;.  and  thus  in  this 
one  word  "  testament  "  the  incarnation  and  the  death  of  Christ 
are  both  comprehended. 

From  all  this  it  is  now  self-evident  what  is  the  use,  and 
what  the  abuse,  of  the  mass  ;  what  is  a  worthy  or  an  unworthy 
preparation  for  it.  If, the  mass  is  a  promise,  as  we  have  said, 
we  can  approach  to  it  by  no  works,  no  strength,  no  merits,  but 
by  faith  alone.  For  where  we  have  the  word  of  God  who 
promises,  there  we  must  have  faith  on  the  part  of  man  who 
accepts ;  and  it  is  thus  clear  that  the  beginning-  of  our-~sal- 
vation  is  faith,  dependingjm  theworo^  of  a  promising  God,  who, 
independently  of  any  efforts~oT~ours7  prevents  Us  by"  His  free 
and  undeserved  mercy,  and  holds  out  to  us  the  word  of  His 
promise.  "  He  sent  His  word  and  healed  them."  (Ps.  cvii.  20.) 
He  did  not  receive  our  works  and  so  save  us.  First  of  all 
comes  the  word  of  God ;  this  is  followed  by  faith,  and  faith _hy 
love,  which  -in  its  turn  does  every  good  work,  because  it 
worketh  no  evil,  yea,  it  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law.  There  is 
no  other  way  in  which  man  can  meet  or  deal  with  God  but  by 
faith.  It  is  not  man  by  any  works  of  his,  but  God,  who  by 
His  own  promise  is  the  author  of  salvation  ;  so  that  everything 
depends,  is  contained,  and  preserved  in  the  word  of  His  power, 
by  which  He  begot  us,  that  we  might  be  a  kind  of  first-fruits  of4 
His  creation. 

Thus,  when  Adam  was  to  be  raised  up  after  the  fall,  God 
gave  him  a  promise,  saying  to  the  serpent :  "I  will  place 
enmity  between  thee  and  the  woman,  and  between  thy  seed 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  165 

and  her  seed  ;  she  shall  bruise  thy  head,  and  thou  shalt  bruise 
her  heel."  In  this  word  of  promise,  Adam  with  his  posterity 
was,  as  it  were,  borne  in  the  bosom  of  God,  and  preserved  by 
faith  in  Him ;  waiting  patiently  for  the  woman  who  should 
bruise  the  head  of  the  serpent,  as  God  had  promised.  In  this 
faith  and  waiting  he  died ;  not  knowing  when  and  how  the 
promise  would  be  accomplished,  but  not  doubting  that  it  would 
be  accomplished.  For  such  a  promise,  being  the  truth  of  God, 
preserves  even  in  hell  those  who  believe  and  wait  for  it.  This 
promise  was  followed  by  another,  made  to  Noah ;  the  bow  in 
the  cloud  being  given  as  a  sign  of  the  covenant,  believing  in 
which  he  and  his  posterity  found  God  propitious.  After  this, 
God  promised  to  Abraham  that  in  his  seed  all  the  kindreds  of 
the  earth  should  be  blessed.  This  is  that  bosom  of  Abraham  into 
which  his  posterity  have  been  received.  Lastly  to  Moses,  and 
to  the  children  of  Israel,  especially  to  David,  God  gave  a  most 
distinct  promise  of  Christ ;  and  thus  at  length  revealed  what 
had  been  the  meaning  of  the  promise  made  to  them  of 
old  time. 

Thus  we  come  to  the  most  perfect  promise  of  all,  that  of  the 
new  Testament,  in  which  life  and  salvation  are  freely  promised 
in  plain  words,  and  are  bestowed  on  those  who  believe  the 
promise.  Christ  conspicuously  distinguishes  this  testament 
from  the  old  one,  by  calling  it  the  "  New  Testament."  The  old 
testament  given  by  Moses  was  a  promise,  not  of  remission  of 
sins,  nor  of  eternal  blessings,  but  of  temporal  ones,  namely, 
those  of  the  land  of  Canaan ;  and  by  it  no  one  could  be  renewed 
in  spirit,  and  fitted  to  receive  a  heavenly  inheritance.  Hence 
it  was  necessary  that,  as  a  figure  of  Christ,  an  unreasoning 
lamb  should  be  slain,  in  the  blood  of  which  the  same  testament 
was  confirmed ;  thus,  as  is  the  blood,  so  is  the  testament ;  as  is 
the  victim,  so  is  the  promise.  Now  Christ  says,  "  The  new 
testament  in  my  blood,"  not  in  another's,  but  in  His  own  blood, 
by  which  grace  is  promised  through  the  Spirit  for  the  remission 
of  sins,  that  we  may  receive  the  inheritance. 

The  mass  then,  as  regards  its  substance,  is  properly  nothing 
else  than  the  aforesaid  words  of  Christ,  "  Take,  eat,"  etc.  He 
seems  to  say  : — "  Behold,  0  man,  sinner  and  condemned  as  thou 
art,  out  of  the  pure  and  free  love  with  which  I  love  thee, 
according  to  the  will  of  the  Father  of  mercies,  I  promise  to 

m  2 


V 


166  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

thee  in  these  words,  antecedently  to  any  merits  or  prayers  of 
thine,  remission  of  all  thy  sins,  and  eternal  life.  That  thou 
mayest  be  most  certain  of  this,  my  irrevocable  promise,  I  will 
confirm  it  by  my  very  death ;  I  will  give  my  body  and  shed  my 
blood,  and  will  leave  both  to  thee,  as  a  sign  and  memorial  of 
this  very  promise.  As  often  as  thou  shalt  receive  them,  re- 
member me;  declare  and  praise  my  love  and  bounty  to  thee; 
and  give  thanks." 

From  this  you  see  that  nothing  else  is  required  for  a  worthy 
reception  of  the  mass  than  faith,  resting  with  confidence  on 
this  promise,  believing  Christ~toBe  truthful  in  these  words  of 
His,  and  not  doubting  that  these  immeasurable  blessings  have 
been  bestowed  upon  us.  On  this  faith  a  spontaneous  and  most 
sweet  affection  of  the  heart  will  speedily  follow,  by  which 
the  spirit  of  the  man  is  enlarged  and  enriched  ;  that  is,  love, 
bestowed  through  the  Holy  Spirit  on  believers  in  Christ.  Thus 
the  believer  is  carried  away  to  Christ,  that  bounteous  and  bene- 
ficent testator,  and  becomes  altogether  another  and  a  new  man. 
Who  would  not  weep  tears  of  delight,  nay,  almost  die  for  joy 
in  Christ,  if  he  believed  with  unhesitating  faith  that  this  in- 
estimable promise  of  Christ  belongs  to  him?  How  can 
he  fail  to  love  such  a  benefactor,  who  of  His  own  accord  offers, 
promises,  and  gives  the  greatest  riches  and  an  eternal  in- 
heritance to  an  unworthy  sinner,  who  has  deserved  very 
different  treatment  ? 

Our  one  great  misery  is  this,  that  while  we  have  many  masses 
in  the  world,  few  or  none  of  us  recognise,  consider,  or  apprehend 
the  rich  promises  set  before  us  in  them.  Now  in  the  mass  the 
one  thing  that  demands  our  greatest,  nay,  our  sole  attention,  is 
to  keep  these  words  and  promises  of  Christ,  which  indeed 
constitute  the  mass  itself,  constantly  before  our  eyes;  that  we 
should  meditate  on  and  digest  them,  and  exercise,  nourish, 
increase,  and  strengthen  our  faith  in  them  by  this  daily  com- 
memoration. This  is  what  Christ  commands  when  He  says, 
"  Do  this  in  remembrance  of  me."  It  is  the  work  of  an 
evangelist  faithfully  to  present  aB3|»|ommend  that  promise 
to  the  people  and  to  call  forth  faith^m  it  on  their  part.  As 
.  it  is — to  say  nothing  of  the  impious  faWBWl^  those  who  teach 
human  traditions  in  the  place  of  this  great  promise — how  many 
are  there  who  know  that  the  mass  is  a  promise  of  Christ? 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  167 

Even  if  they  teach  these  words  of  Christ,  they  do  not  teach 
them  as  conveying  a  promise  or  a  testament,  and  therefore  call 
forth  no  faith  in  them. 

It  is  a  deplorable  thing  in  our  present  bondage,  that  nowa- 
days the  utmost  care  is  taken  that  no  layman  should  hear  ;' 
those  words  of  Christ,  as  if  they  were  too  sacred  to  be  com- 
mitted to  the  common  people.  We  priests  are  so  mad  that  we 
arrogate  to  ourselves  alone  the  right  of  secretly  uttering  the 
words  of  consecration — as  they  are  called ;  and  that  in  a  way 
which  is  unprofitable  even  to  ourselves,  since  we  never  look  at 
them  as  promises  or  a  testament  for  the  increase  of  faith. 
Under  the  influence  of  some  superstitious  and  impious  notion 
we  do  reverence  to  these  words  instead  of  believing  them.  In 
this  our  misery  Satan  so  works  among  us  that,  while  he  has 
left  nothing  of  the  mass  to  the  Church,  he  yet  takes  care  that 
every  corner  of  the  earth  shall  be  full  of  masses,  that  is,  of 
abuses  and  mockeries  of  the  testament  of  God ;  and  that  the 
world  shall  be  more  and  more  heavily  loaded  with  the  gravest 
sins  of  idolatry,  to  increase  its  greater  damnation.  For  what 
more  grievous  sin  of  idolatry  can  there  be,  than  to  abuse  the 
promises  of  God  by  our  perverse  notions,  and  either  neglect  or 
extinguish  all  faith  in  them.  *^<r^^ 

God  (as  I  have  said)  never  has  dealt,  or  does  deal,  with  men  U  j 
otherwise  than  by  the  word  of  promise.     Again,  we  can  never  '  I 
deal  with  God  otherwise  than  byfaith  in  the  word  of  His    «J 
promise.     He_takes  no_heed  of  our  works,  and  has  no  need  of 
^hem, — though  it  is  by  these  we  deal  with  other  men  and  with  . 
ourselves  ; — but  He  does_require  to  be  esteemed  by  us  truthful  1 
in  His  promises,  and  to  be  patiently  considered  as  such,  and  I 
thus  worshipped  in  faith,  hope,  and  love.     And  thus  it  is  that 
He  is  glorified  in  us,  when  we  receive  and  hold  every  blessing 
not  by  our  own  efforts,  but  from  His  mercy,  promise,  and 
gift.     This  is  that  true  worship  and  service  of  God,  which  we 
are  bound  to  render  in  the  mass.     But  when  the  words  of  the 
promise  are  not  delivered  to  us,  what  exercise  of  faith  can 
thqafe  be  ?     And  without  faith  who  can  hope  ?  who  can  love  ? 
without  faith,  hope,   and  love,  what    service  can  there   be  ? 
There  is  no  doubt  therefore  that,  at  the  present  day,  the  whole   [ 
body  of  priests  and  monks,  with  their  bishops  and  all  their 
superiors,  are  idolaters,  and  living  in  a  most  perilous  state, 


168  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

through  their  ignorance,  abuse,  and  mockery  of  the  mass,  or 
sacrament,  or  promise  of  God. 

It  is  easy  for  any  one  to  understand  that  two  things  are 
necessary  at  the  same  time,  the  promise  and  faith.  With- 
oj2nr|)roD^^  faith 

the  promise  is  useless,.  sinc£_it_is--4h*ouglr  faith  that  it"  is 
established  and  fulfilled.  Whence  we  easily  conclude  that 
the  mass,  being  nothing  else  than  a  promise,  can  be  approached 
and  partaken  of  by  faith__alorie ;  without  which  whatever 
prayers,  preparations,  works,  signs,  or  gestures  are  practised, 
are  rather  provocations  to  impiety  than  acts  of  piety.  It 
constantly  happens  that  when  men  have  given  their  attention 
to  all  these  things  they  imagine  that  they  are  approaching  the 
altar  lawfully ;  and  yet,  in  reality,  could  never  be  more  unfit 
to  approach  it,  because  of  the  unbelief  which  they  bring  with 
them.  What  a  number  of  sacrificing  priests  you  may  daily  see 
everywhere,  who  if  they  have  committed  some  trifling  error, 
by  unsuitable  vestments,  or  unwashed  hands,  or  by  some 
hesitation  in  the  prayers,  are  wretched,  and  think  themselves 
guilty  of  an  immense  crime !  Meanwhile,  as  for  the  mass 
itself,  that  is,  the  divine  promise,  they  neither  heed  nor 
believe  it ;  yea,  are  utterly  unconscious  of  its  existence.  0, 
unworthy  religion  of  our  age,  the  most  impious  and  ungrateful 
of  all  ages  ! 

There  is  then  no  worthy  preparation  for  the  mass,  or 
rightful  use  of  it,  except  faith,  by  which  it  is  believed  in  as  a 
divine  promise.  Wherefore  let  him  who  is  about  to  approach 
the  altar,  or  to  receive  the  sacrament,  take  care  not  to  appear 
before  the  Lord  his  God  empty.  Now  he  will  be  empty,  if  he 
has  not  faith  in  the  mass,  or  New  Testament  ;  and  what  more 
grievous  impiety  can  he  commit  against  the  truth  of  God  than 
by  this  unbelief  ?  As  far  as  in  him  lies,  he  makes  God  a  liar, 
and  renders  His  promises  idle.  It  will  be  safest  then  to  go  to 
the  mass  in  no  other  spirit  than  that  in  which  thou  wouldst 
go  to  hear  any  other  promise  of  God ;  that  is,  to  be  prepared, 
not  to  do  many  works,  and  bring  many  gifts,  but  to  believe 
and  receive  all  that  is  promised  thee  in  that  ordinance,  or  is 
declared  to  thee  through  the  ministry  of  the  priest  as  promised. 
Unless  thou  comest  in  this  spirit,  beware  of  drawing  near ;  for 
thou  wilt  surely  draw  near  unto  judgment. 


THE  BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  169 

I  liave  rightly  said  then,  that  the  whole  virtue  of  the  mass 
consists  in  those  words  of  Christ,  in  which  He  testifies  that 
remission  is  granted  to  all  who  believe  that  His  body  is  given 
and  His  blood  shed  for  them.  There  is  nothing  then  more 
J  necessary  for  those  who  are  about  to  hear  mass  than  to 
meditate  earnestly  and  with  full  faith  on  the  very  words  of 
Christ ;  for  unless  they  do  this,  all  else  is  done  in  vain.  It  is 
certainly  true  that  God  has  ever  been  wont,  in  all  His  promises, 
to  give  some  sign,  token,  or  memorial  of  His  promise ;  that  it 
migEf Tie"  kept  more  faithfully  and  tell  more  strongly  on  men's 
minds.  Thus  when  He  promised  to  Noah  that  the  earth 
should  not  be  destroyed  by  another  deluge,  He  gave  His  bow  in 
the  cloud,  and  said  that  He  would  thus  remember  His  covenant. 
To  Abraham,  when  He  promised  that  his  seed  should  inherit 
the  earth,  He  gave  circumcision  as  a  seal  of  the  righteous- 
ness which  is  by  faith.  Thus  to  Gideon  He  gave  the  dry  and 
the  dewy  fleece,  to  confirm  His  promise  of  victory  over  the 
Midianites.  Thus  to  Ahaz  He  gave  a  sign  through  Isaiah,  to 
confirm  his  faith  in  the  promise  of  victory  over  the  kings  of 
Syria  and  Samaria.  We  read  in  the  Scriptures  of  many  such 
signs  of  the  promises  of  God. 

So  too  in  the  mass,  that  first  of  all  promises,  He  gave  a 
sign  in  memory  of  so  great  a  promise,  namely,  His  own  hodj 
and  His  own  blood  in  the  bread  and  wine,  saying,  "  Do  this  in 
remembrance  of  me."  Thus  in  baptism  He  adds  to  the  words 
of  the  promise  the  sign  of  immersion  in  water.  Whence  we 
see  that  in  every  promise  of  God  tAVO-thioga  are  sot  bofore  -41S} 
the  word  and  thejsigu.  The  word  we  are  to  understand  aj 
beingThe'  testanientf~and  the  sign  as  being  the  sacrament ; 
thus,  in  the  mass,  the  word  of  Christ  is  the  testament,  the 
bread  and  wine  are  the  sacrament.  And  as  there  is  greater 
power  in  the  word  than  in  the  sign,  so  is  there  greater  power 
in  the  testament  than  in  the  sacrament.  A  man  can  have  and 
use  the  word  or  testament  without  the  sign  or  sacrament. 
"  Believe,"  saith_Augustine,  "  and  thou  hast  .eatenj  "  but  in 
what  do  we  believe  except  in  the  word  of  Him  who  promises? 
Thus  I  can  have  the  mass  daily,  nay  hourly ;  since,  as  often  as 
I  will,  I  can  set  before  myself  the  words  of  Christ,  and  nourish 
and  strengthen  my  faith  in  them ;  and  this  is  in  very  truth 
the  spiritual  eating  and  drinking. 


170  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WOEKS 

Here  we  see  how  much  the  theologians  of  the  Sentences  have 
done  for  ns  in  this  matter.  In  the  first  place,  not  one  of  them 
handles  that  which  is  the  sum  and  substance  of  the  whole, 
namely,  the  testament  and  word  of  promise  ;  and  thus  they  do 
awav  with  faith  and  the  whole  virtue  of  the  mass.  In  the 
next  place,  the  other  part  of  it,  namely,  the  sign  or  sacrament, 
is  all  that  they  deal  with  ;  but  they  do  not  teach  faith  even  in 
this,  but  their  own  preparations,  ojpera  operetta,  participations 
and  fruits  of  the  mass.  At  length  they  have  reached  the  very 
depth  of  error,  and  have  involved  themselves  in  an  infinity  of 
metaphysical  triflings  concerning  transubstantiation  and  other 
points ;  so  that  thay  have  done  away  with  all  faith,  and  with 
the  knowledge  and  true  use  as  well  of  the  testament  as  of  the 
sacrament ;  and  have  caused  the  people  of  Christ — as  the 
prophet  says — to  forget  their  God  for  many  days.  But  do 
thou  leave  others  to  recount  the  various  fruits  of  hearing  mass, 
and  apply  thy  mind  to  saying  and  believing  with  the  prophet, 
that  God  has  prepared  a  table  before  thee  in  the  presence  of 
thine  enemies — a  table  at  which  thy  faith  may  feed  and  grow 
strong.  Now  it  is  only  on  the  word  of  the  divine  promise  that 
thy  faith  can  feed ;  for  man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone,  but 
by  every  word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God.  (Matt, 
iv.  4.)  Wherefore,  in  the  mass,  thou  must  look  above  all 
things  most  closely  to  the  word  of  promise  as  to  a  most 
sumptuous  banquet,  full  of  every  kind  of  food  and  holy 
nourishment  for  thy  soul ;  this  thou  must  esteem  above  all 
things ;  in  this  thou  must  place  all  thy  trust,  and  cleave  firmly 
to  it,  even  in  the  midst  of  death  and  all  thy  sins.  If  thou  dost 
this,  thou  wilt  possess  not  only  those  drops  as  it  were  and 
littlenesses  of  the  fruits  of  the  mass,  which  some  have  super - 
stitiously  invented,  but  the  main  fount  of  life  itself,  namely, 
that  faith  in  the  word  from  which  every  good  thing  flows ;  as 
Christ  said,  "  He  that  believeth  on  me,  out  of  his  belly  shall 
flow  rivers  of  living  water."  (John  vii.  38) ;  and  again,  "  Whoso- 
ever drinketh  of  the  water  that  I  shall  give  him  shall  never 
thirst ;  but  the  water  that  I  shall  give  him,  shall  be  in  him  a 
well  of  water  springing  up  into  everlasting  life."    (John  iv.  14.) 

There  are  two  difficulties  which  are  wont  to  beset  us,  and 
prevent  our  receiving  the  benefits  of  the  mass.  The  one  is, 
that  we  are  sinners  and  unworthy,  from  our  utter  vileness,  of 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  171 

such  great  blessings.  The  other  is — even  if  we  were  worthy — 
the  very  greatness  of  the  blessings  themselves,  which  are  such 
that  weak  nature  cannot  dare  to  seek  or  hope  for  them.  Who 
would  not  be  struck  in  the  first  place  with  amazement  rather 
than  with  the  desire  for  the  remission  of  sins  and  eternal  life, 
if  he  rightly  estimates  the  greatness  of  the  blessings  which 
come  through  these — namely,  the  having  God  as  his  Father,  and 
being  a  child  of  God,  and  heir  of  all  good  things  ?  To  meet 
this  double  weakness  of  nature,  thou  must  take  hold  of  the 
word  of  Christ,  and  fix  thine  eyes  much  more  strongly  on  it, 
than  on  these  cogitations  of  thine  own  infirmity.  For  the 
works  of  the  Lord  are  great,  and  He  is  mighty  to  give,  beyond 
all  that  we  can  seek  or  comprehend.  Indeed,  unless  His  works 
surpassed  our  worthiness,  our  capacity,  our  whole  comprehen- 
sion, they  would  not  be  divine.  Thus  too  Christ  encourages  us, 
saying :  "  Fear  not,  little  flock ;  for  it  is  your  Father's  good 
pleasure  to  give  you  the  kingdom."  (Luke  xii.  32;)  This 
incomprehensible  exuberance  of  God's  mercy,  poured  out  on  us 
through  Christ,  makes  us,  in  our  turn,  to  love  Him  above  all 
things,  to  cast  ourselves  upon  Him  with  the  most  perfect  trust, 
to  despise  all  things,  and  be  ready  to  suffer  all  things  for 
Him.  Hence  this  sacrament  has  been  rightly  called  the 
fountain  of  love. 

Here  we  may  draw  an  example  from  human  affairs.  If  some 
very  rich  lord  were  to  bequeath  a  thousand  pieces  of  gold  to 
any  beggar,  or  even  to  an  unworthy  and  bad  servant,  such  a 
one  would  certainly  demand  and  receive  them  confidently, 
without  regard  either  to  his  own  unworthiness  or  to  the 
greatness  of  the  legacy.  If  any  one  were  to  set  these  before 
him  as  objections,  what  do  you  think  he  would  reply  ?  He 
would  certainly  answer :  "  What  is  that  to  you  ?  It  is  not 
by  my  deserving,  nor  by  any  right  of  my  own,  that  I  receive 
what  I  do  receive.  I  know  that  I  am  unworthy  of  it,  and  that 
I  am  receiving  much  more  than  I  deserve ;  nay,  I  have 
deserved  the  very  contrary.  But  what  I  claim,  I  claim  by 
right  of  a  testament,  and  of  the  goodness  of  another  ;  if  it  was 
not  an  unworthy  act  to  leave  such  a  legacy  to  me  who  am  so 
unworthy,  why  should  my  unworthiness  make  me  hesitate  to 
accept  it  ?  Nay,  the  more  unworthy  I  am,  the  more  readily 
do  I  embrace    this   free  favour  from    another."      With    such 


172  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

reasonings  we  must  arm  our  own  consciences  against  all  their 
scruples  and  anxieties,  that  we  may  hold  this  promise  of  Christ 
with  unhesitating  faith.  We  must  give  the  utmost  heed  not 
to  approach  in  any  confidence  in  our  own  confessions,  prayers, 
and  preparations ;  we  must  despair  of  all  these  and  come  in  a 
lofty  confidence  in  the  promise  of  Christ— since  it  is  the  word 
of  promise  which  alone  must  reign  here — and  in  pure  faith, 
which  is  the  one  and  sole  sufficient  preparation. 

We  see  from  all  this,  how  great  the  wrath  of  God  has  been 
which  has  permitted  our  impious  teachers  to  conceal  from  us 
the  words  of  this  testament,  and  thus,  as  far  as  in  them  lay,  to 
extinguish  faith  itself.  It  is  self-evident  what  must  necessarily 
follow  this  extinction  of  faith,  namely,  the  most  impious  super- 
stitions about  works.  For  when  faith  perishes  and  the  word 
of  faith  is  silent,  then  straightway  works,  and  traditions  of 
works,  rise  up  in  its  place.  By  these  we  have  been  removed 
from  our  own  land,  as  into  bondage  at  Babylon,  and  all  that 
was  dear  to  us  has  been  taken  from  us.  Even  thus  it  has 
befallen  us  with  the  mass,  which,  through  the  teaching  of 
wicked  men,  has  been  changed  into  a  good  work,  which  they 
call  opus  operatum,  and  by  which  they  imagine  that  they  are 
all  powerful  with  God.  Hence  they  have  gone  to  the  extreme 
of  madness ;  and,  having  first  falsely  affirmed  that  the  mass 
is  of  avail  through  the  force  of  the  opus  operatum,  they  have 
gone  on  to  say,  that  even  if  it  be  hurtful  to  him  who  offers 
it  impiously,  yet  it  is  none  the  less  useful  to  others.  On  this 
basis  they  have  established  their  applications,  participations, 
fraternities,  anniversaries,  and  an  infinity  of  lucrative  and 
gainful  business  of  that  kind. 

You  will  scarcely  be  able  to  stand  against  these  errors,  many 
and  strong  as  they  are,  and  deeply  as  they  have  penetrated, 
unless  you  fix  what  has  been  said  firmly  in  your  memory,  and 
gi^e  the  most  stedfast  heed  to  the  true  nature  of  the  mass. 
You  have  heard  that  the  mass  is  nothing  else  than  the  divine 
promise  or  testament  of  Christ,  commended  to  us  by  the  Y 
sacrament  of  His  body  and  blood.  If  this  is  true,  you  will  see 
that  it  cannot  in  any  way  be  a  work,  nor  can  any  work  be  per- 
formed in  it,  nor  can  it  be  handled  in  any  way  but  by  faith 
alone.  Now  faith  is  not  a  work,  but  the  mistress  and  life  of  all 
works.      Is  there  any  man  so  senseless  as  to  call  a  promise  he 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  173 

has  received,  or  a  legacy  that  has  been  bestowed  on  him,  a  good 
work  done  on  his  part  towards  the  testator  ?  What  heir  is 
there,  who  thinks  that  he  is  doing  a  service  to  his  father  when  \ 
he  receives  the  testamentary  documents  along  with  the  inheri- 
tance bequeathed  to  him  ?  Whence  then  this  impious  rash- 
ness of  ours,  that  we  come  to  receive  the  testament  of  God  as 
if  we  were  doing  a  good  work  towards  Him  ?  Is  not  such 
ignorance  of  that  testament,  and  such  a  state  of  bondage  of 
that  great  sacrament,  a  grief  beyond  all  tears  ?  Where  we 
ought  to  be  grateful  for  blessings  bestowed  on  us,  we  come  in 
our  pride  to  give  what  we  ought  to  receive,  and  make  a 
mockery,  with  unheard-of  perversity,  of  the  mercy  of  the  Giver. 
We  give  to  Him  as  a  work  of  ours  what  we  receive  as  a  gift 
from  Him ;  and  we  thus  make  the  testator  no  longer  the 
bestower  of  His  good  gifts  on  us,  but  the  receiver  of  ours. 
Alas  for  such  impiety  ! 

Who  has  ever  been  so  senseless  as  to  consider  baptism  a  i^\ 
good  work  ?  What  candidate  for  baptism  has  ever  believed  he  / 
was  doing  a  work  which  he  might  offer  to  God  on  behalf  of  ' 
himself  and  others  ?  If  then  in  one  sacrament  and  testament 
there  is  no  good  work  communicable  to  others,  neither  can 
there  be  any  in  the  mass,  which  is  itself  nothing  but  a  testa- 
ment and  a  sacrament.  Hence  it  is  a  manifest  and  impious  — 
error,  to  offer  or  apply  the  mass  for  sins,  for  satisfactions,  for 
the  dead,  or  for  any  necessities  of  our  own  or  of  others.  The 
evident  truth  of  this  statement  you  will  easily  understand,  if 
you  keep  closely  to  the  fact,  that  the  mass  is  a  divine  promise, 
which  can  profit  no  one,  be  applied  to  no  one,  be  communicated 
to  no  one,  except  to  the  believer  himself;  and  that  solely  by 
his  own  faith.  Who  can  possibly  receive  or  apply  for  another 
a  promise  of  God,  which  requires  faith  on  the  part  of  each 
individual  ?  Can  I  give  another  man  the  promise  of  God,  if  he 
does  not  believe  it  ?  or  can  I  believe  for  another  man  ?  or  can 
I  make  another  believe  ?  Yet  all  this  I  must  be  able  to  do  if  I 
can  apply  and  communicate  the  mass  to  others  ;  for  there  are 
in  the  mass  only  these  two  things,  God's  promise,  and  man's 
faith  which  receives  that  promise.  If  I  can  do  all  this,  I  can 
also  hear  and  believe  the  gospel  on  behalf  of  other  men,  I  can 
be  baptized  for  another  man,  I  can  be  absolved  from  sin  for 
another  man,   I  can  partake  of  the  Sacrament   of  the  Altar 


174  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

for  another  man ;  nay,  to  go  through  the  whole  list  of  their 
sacraments,  I  can  also  marry  for  another  man,  be  ordained 
priest  for  another  man,  be  confirmed  for  another  man,  receive 
extreme  unction  for  another  man. 

Why  did  not  Abraham  believe  on  behalf  of  all  the  Jews? 
Why  was  every  individual  Jew  required  to  exercise  faith  in  the 
same  promise  which  Abraham  believed  ?  Let  us  keep  to  this 
impregnable  truth : — where  there  is  a  divine  promise,  there 
every  man  stands  for  himself ;  individual  faith  is  required ; 
every  man  shall  give  account  for  himself,  and  shall  bear  his 
own  burdens ;  as  Christ  says :  "  He  that  believeth  and  is 
baptized  shall  be  saved ;  but  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be 
:  damned."  (Mark  xvi.  16.)  Thus  every  man  can  make  the 
'■  mass  useful  only  to  himself,  by  his  own  faith,  and  can  by  no 
means  communicate  it  to  others ;  just  as  a  priest  cannot 
administer  a  sacrament  to  any  man  on  behalf  of  another,  but 
administers  the  same  sacrament  to  each  individual  separately. 
The  priests  in  their  work  of  consecration  and  administration 
act  as  ministers  for  us ;  not  that  we  offer  up  any  good  work 
through  them,  or  communicate  actively  ;  but  by  their  means  we 
receive  the  promise  and  its  sign,  and  communicate  passively. 
This  idea  continues  among  the  laity ;  for  they  are  not  said 
to  do  a  good  work,  but  to  receive  a  gift.  But  the  priests 
have  gone  after  their  own  impieties  and  have  made  it  a  good 
work  that  they  communicate  and  make  an  offering  out  of  the 
sacrament  and  testament  of  God,  whereas  they  ought  to  have 
received  it  as  a  good  gift. 

But  you  will  say :  "  What  ?  will  you  ever  overthrow  the 
practices  and  opinions  which,  for  so  many  centuries,  have 
rooted  themselves  in  all  the  churches  and  monasteries ;  and  all 
that  superstructure  of  anniversaries,  suffrages,  applications, 
and  communications,  which  they  have  established  upon  the 
mass,  and  from  which  they  have  drawn  the  amplest  revenues  ?  " 
I  reply:  It  is  this  which  has  compelled  me  to  write  concerning 
the  bondage  of  the  Church.  For  the  venerable  testament  of 
God  has  been  brought  into  a  profane  servitude  to  gain, 
through  the  opinions  and  traditions  of  impious  men,  who  have 
passed  over  the  Word  of  God,  and  have  set  before  us  the 
imaginations  of  their  own  hearts,  and  thus  have  led  the  world 
astray.     What  have  I  to  do  with  the  number  or  the  greatness 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  175 

of  those  who  are  in  error  ?  Truth  is  stronger  than  all.  If 
you  can  deny  that  Christ  teaches  that  the  mass  is  a  testament 
and  a  sacrament,  I  am  ready  to  justify  those  men.  Again,  if 
you  can  say  that  the  man  who  receives  the  benefit  of  a 
testament,  or  who  uses  for  this  purpose  the  sacrament  of 
promise,  is  doing  a  good  work,  I  am  ready  and  willing  to 
condemn  all  that  I  have  said.  But  since  neither  is  possible, 
why  hesitate  to  despise  the  crowd  which  hastens  to  do  evil, 
whilst  you  give  glory  to  God  and  confess  His  truth,  namely, 
that  all  priests  are  perversely  mistaken,  who  look  on  the  mass 
as  a  work  by  which  they  may  aid  their  own  necessities,  or 
those  of  others,  whether  dead  or  alive  ?  My  statements,  I 
know,  are  unheard  of  and  astounding.  But  if  you  look  into 
the  true  nature  of  the  mass,  you  will  see  that  I  speak  the 
truth.  These  errors  have  proceeded  from  that  over-security, 
which  has  kept  us  from  perceiving  that  the  wrath  of  God  was 
coming  upon  us. 

This  I  readily  admit,  that  the  prayers  which  we  pour  forth 
in  the  presence  of  God,  when  we  meet  to  partake  of  the  mass, 
are  good  works  or  benefits,  which  we  mutually  impart,  apply, 
and  communicate,  and  offer  up  for  one  another ;  as  the  Apostle 
James  teaches  us  to  pray  for  one  another  that  we  may  be 
saved.  Paul  also  exhorts  that  supplications,  prayers,  inter- 
cessions, and  giving  of  thanks,  be  made  for  all  men ;  for  kings, 
and  for  all  that  are  in  authority.  (1  Tim.  ii.  1,  2.)  These 
things  are  not  the  mass,  but  works  of  the  mass ; — if,  indeed,  we 
can  call  the  prayers  of  our  hearts  and  our  lips  works — because 
they  spring  from  the  existence  and  growth  of  faith  in  the 
sacrament.  The  mass  or  promise  of  God  is  not  completed  by 
our  prayers,  but  only  by  our  faith ;  and  in  faith  we  pray  and 
do  other  good  works.  But  what  priest  sacrifices  with  the 
intention  and  idea  of  only  offering  up  prayers  ?  They  all 
imagine  that  they  are  offering  Christ  himself  to  God  the 
Father  as  an  all-sufficient  victim  ;  and  that  they  are  doing  a 
good  work  on  behalf  of  all  men,  who,  as  they  allege,  will  profit 
by  it.  They  trust  in  the  opus  operatum,  and  do  not  attribute 
the  effect  to  prayer.  Thus,  by  a  gradual  growth  of  error,  they 
attribute  to  the  sacrament  the  benefit  which  springs  from 
prayer ;  and  they  offer  to  God  what  they  ought  to  receive  as 
a  gift  from  Him. 


176  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

We  must  therefore  make  a  clear  distinction  between  the 
testament  and  sacrament  itself,  and  the  prayers  which  we  offer 
at  the  same  time.  And  not  only  so,  but  we  must  understand 
that  those  prayers  are  of  no  value  at  all,  either  to  him  who 
offers  them,  or  to  those  for  whom  they  are  offered,  unless  the 
testament  has  been  first  received  by  faith,  so  that  the  prayer 
may  be  that  of  faith,  which  alone  is  heard,  as  the  Apostle 
James  teaches  us.  So  widely  does  prayer  differ  from  the  mass. 
I  can  pray  for  as  many  persons  as  I  will ;  but  no  one  receives 
the  mass  unless  he  believes  for  himself;  and  that  only  so  far 
as  he  believes ;  nor  can  it  be  given  either  to  God  or  to  men, 
but  it  is  God  alone  who  by  the  ministry  of  the  priest  gives  it 
to  men,  and  they  receive  it  by  faith  alone,  without  any  works 
or  merits.  No  one  would  be  so  audaciously  foolish  as  to  say 
that,  when  a  poor  and  needy  man  comes  to  receive  a  benefit 
from  the  hand  of  a  rich  man,  he  is  doing  a  good  work.  Now 
the  mass  is  the  benefit  of  a  divine  promise,  held  forth  to  all 
men  by  the  hand  of  the  priest.  It  is  certain,  therefore,  that  the 
mass  is  not  a  work  communicable  to  others,  but  the  object  of 
each  man's  individual  faith,  which  is  thus  to  be  nourished  and 
strengthened. 

"We  must  also  get  rid  of  another _ggandal3  which  is  a  much 
greater  and  a  very  specious  one ;  that  is,  that  the  mass  is 
universally  believed  to  be  a  sacrifice  offered  to  GoJ.  With  this 
opinion  the  words  of  the  canon  of  the  mass  appear  to  agree, 
such  as — "These  gifts;  these  offerings;  these  holy  sacrifices;"  and 
again,  "  this  oblation."  There  is  also  a  very  distinct  prayer  that 
the  sacrifice  may  be  accepted  like  the  sacrifice  of  Abel.  Hence 
Christ  is  called  the  victim  of  the  altar.  To  this  we  must  add 
the  sayings  of  the  holy  Fathers,  a  great  number  of  authorities, 
and  the  usage  that  has  been  constantly  observed  throughout 
the  world. 

To  all  these  difficulties,  which  beset  us  so  pertinaciously, 
we  must  oppose  with  the  utmost  constancy  the  words  and 
example  of  Christ.  Unless  we  hold  the  mass  to  be  the  promise 
or  testament  of  Christ,  according  to  the  plain  meaning  of  the 
words,  we  lose  all  the  gospel  and  our  whole  comfort.  Let  us 
allow  nothing  to  prevail  against  those  words,  even  if  an  angel 
from  heaven  taught  us  otherwise.  Now  in  these  words  there  is 
nothing  about  a  work  or  sacrifice.    Again,  we  have  the  example 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  177 


of  Christ  on  our  side.     When  Christ  instituted  this  sacrament 
and  established  this  testament  in  the  Last  Supper,  he  did  not 


offer  himself  to  God  the  Father,  or  accomplish  any  work  on 
behalf  of  others,  but,  as  he  sat  at  the  table,  he  declared  the 
same  testament  to  each  individual  present  and  bestowed  on  each 
the  sign  of  it.  Now  the  more  any  mass  resembles  and  is  akin  to  / 
that  first  mass  of  all  which  Christ  celebrated  at  the  Last  Supper,/ 
the  more  Christian  it  is.  But  that  mass  of  Christ  was  most 
simple ;  without  any  display  of  vestments,  gestures,  hymns, 
and  other  ceremonies ;  so  that  if  it  had  been  necessary  that  it 
should  be  offered  as  a  sacrifice,  His  institution  of  it  would  not 
have  been  complete. 

Not  that  any  one  ought  rashly  to  blame  the  universal 
Church,  which  has  adorned  and  extended  the  mass  with  many 
other  rites  and  ceremonies ;  but  we  desire  that  no  one  should 
be  so  deceived  by  showy  ceremonies,  or  so  perplexed  by  the 
amount  of  external  display,  as  to  lose  the  simplicity  of  the 
mass,  and  in  fact  pay  honour  to  some  kind  of  transubstantiation  ; 
as  will  happen  if  we  pass  by  the  simple  substance  of  the  mass, 
and  fix  our  minds  on  the  manifold  accidents  of  its  outward 
show.  For  whatever  has  been  added  to  the  mass  beyond  the 
-word  and  example  of  Christ,  is  one  of  its  accidents;  and  none^ 
of  these  ought  we  to  consider  in  any  other  light  than  we  now 
consider  monstrances— as  they  are  called — and  altar  cloths, 
within  which  the  host  is  contained.  It  is  a  contradiction  in 
terms  that  the  mass  should  be  a  sacrifice ;  since  we  receive  the  / 
mass,  but  give  a  sacrifice.  Now  the  same  thing  cannot  be 
received  and  offered  at  the  same  time,  nor  can  it  be  at  once 
given  and  accepted  by  the  same  person.  This  is  as  certain 
as  that  prayer  and  the  thing  prayed  for  cannot  be  the  same ; 
nor  can  it  be  the  same  thing  to  pray  and  to  receive  what  we 
pray  for. 

What  shall  we  say  then  to  the  canon  of  the  mass  and  the 
authority  of  the  Fathers  ?  First  of  all  I  reply  :— If  there  were 
nothing  to  be  said,  it  would  be  safer  to  deny  their  authority 
altogether,  than  to  grant  that  the  mass  is  a  work  or  a  sacrifice, 
and  thus  to  deny  the  word  of  Christ  and  to  overthrow  faith  and 
the  mass  together.  However,  that  we  may  keep  the  Fathers 
too,  we  will  explain  (1  Cor.  xi.)  that  the  believers  in  Christ,  when 
they  met  to  celebrate  the  mass,  were  accustomed  to  bring  with 


178  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

them  portions  of  food  and  drink,  called  "  collects,"  which  were 
distributed  among  the  poor,  according  to  the  example  of  the 
Apostles  (Acts  iv.),  and  from  which  were  taken  the  bread  and 
wine  consecrated  for  the  sacrament.  Since  all  these  gifts  were 
sanctified  by  the  word  and  prayer  after  the  Hebrew  rite,  in 
accordance  with  which  they  were  lifted  on  high,  as  we  read  in 
Moses,  the  words  and  the  practice  of  elevation,  or  of  offering, 
continued  in  the  Church  long  after  the  custom  had  died  out  of 
collecting  and  bringing  together  the  gifts  which  were  offered 
or  elevated.  Thus  Hezekiah  (Isaiah  xxxvii.  4)  bids  Isaiah  to  lift 
his  prayer  for  the  remnant  that  is  left.  Again,  the  Psalmist 
says  :  "  Lift  up  your  hands  to  the  holy  place  ;  "  and — "  To  thee 
will  I  lift  up  my  hands  ;  "  and  again — "  That  men  pray  every- 
where, lifting   up  holy  hands."   (1    Tim.   ii.    8.)     Hence   the 

expressions  "  sacrifice  "  or  "  oblation  "  ought  to  be  referred,  not 

to  the  sacrament  and  testament,  but  to  the  "  collects "  them- 
selves. Hence  too  the  word  collect  has  remained  in  use  for 
the  prayers  said  in  the  mass. 

For  the  same  reason  the  priest  elevates  the  bread  and  the 
cup  as  soon  as  he  has  consecrated  them  ;  but  the  proof  that  he 
is  not  therein  offering  anything  to  God  is  that  in  no  single 
word  does  he  make  mention  of  a  victim  or  an  oblation.  This 
too  is  a  remnant  of  the  Hebrew  rite,  according  to  which  it  was 
customary  to  elevate  the  gifts  which,  after  being  received  with 
giving  of  thanks,  were  brought  back  to  God.  Or  it  may  be 
considered  as  an  admonition  to  us,  to  call  forth  our  faith  in  that 
testament  which  Christ  on  that  occasion  brought  forward  and 
set  before  us ;  and  also  as  a  display  of  its  sign.  The  oblation  of 
the  bread  properly  corresponds  to  the  words :  "  This  is  my 
body ;  "  and  Christ,  as  it  were,  addresses  us  bystanders  by  this 
very  sign.  Thus  too  the  oblation  of  the  cup  properly  corre- 
sponds to  these  words  :  "  This  cup  is  the  New  Testament  in 
my  blood."  The  priest  ought  to  call  forth  our  faith  by  the 
very  rite  of  elevation.  And  as  he  openly  elevates  the  sign  or 
sacrament  in  our  sight,  so  I  wish  that  he  also  pronounced  the 
word  or  testament  with  loud  and  clear  voice  in  our  hearing ; 
and  that  in  the  language  of  every  nation,  that  our  faith  might 
be  more  efficaciously  exercised.  Why  should  it  be  lawful  to  i 
perform  mass  in  Greek,  and  Latin,  and  Hebrew,  and  not  also  in'  A 
German,  or  in  any  other  language  ? 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  179 

Wherefore,  in  this  abandoned  and  most  perilous  age,  let  the 
priests  who  sacrifice  take  heed  in  the  first  place  that  those 
words  of  the  major  and  minor  canon,  with  the  collects,  which 
speak  only  too  plainly  of  a  sacrifice,  are  to  be  applied,  not  to 
the  sacrament,  but  either  to  the  consecration  of  the  bread  and 
wine  themselves,  or  to  their  own  prayers.  For  the  bread  and 
wine  are  presented  beforehand  to  receive  a  blessing,  that  they 
may  be  sanctified  by  the  word  and  prayer.  But  after  being 
blessed  and  consecrated,  they  are  no  longer  offered,  but  are 
received  as  a  gift  from  God.  And  in  this  matter  let  the  priest 
consider  that  the  gospel  is  to  be  preferred  to  all  canons  and 
collects  composed  by  men ;  but  the  gospel,  as  we  have  seen, 
does  not  allow  the  mass  to  be  a  sacrifice. 

In  the  next  place,  when  the  priest  is  performing  mass  publicly, 
let  him  understand  that  he  is  only  receiving  and  giving  to  others 
the  communion  in  the  mass ;  and  let  him  beware  of  offering  up 
at  the  same  moment  his  prayers  for  himself  and  others,  lest  he 
should  seem  to  be  presuming  to  offer  the  mass.  The  priest  also 
who  is  saying  a  private  mass  must  consider  himself  as  adminis- 
tering the  communion  to  himself.  A  private  mass  is  not  at  all 
different  from,  nor  more  efficient  than,  the  simple  reception  of 
the  communion  by  any  layman  from  the  hand  of  the  priest, 
except  for  the  prayers,  and  that  the  priest  consecrates  and 
administers  it  to  himself.  In  the  matter  itself  of  the  mass  and 
the  sacrament,  we  are  all  equal,  priests  and  laymen. 

Even  if  he  is  requested  by  others  to  do  so,  let  him  beware  of 
celebrating  votive  masses — as  they  are  called — and  of  receiving 
any  payment  for  the  mass,  or  presuming  to  offer  any  votive 
sacrifice ;  but  let  him  carefully  refer  all  this  to  the  prayers 
which  he  offers,  whether  for  the  dead  or  the  living.  Let  him 
think  thus : — I  will  go  and  receive  the  sacrament  for  myself 
alone,  but  while  I  receive  it  I  will  pray  for  this  or  that  person, 
and  thus,  for  purposes  of  food  and  clothing,  receive  payment  for 
my  prayers,  and  not  for  the  mass.  Nor  let  it  shake  thee  in 
this  view,  though  the  whole  world  is  of  the  contrary  opinion 
and  practice.  Thou  hast  the  most  certain  authority  of  the 
gospel,  and  relying  on  this,  thou  mayest  easily  contemn  the 
ideas  and  opinions  of  men.  If  however,  in  despite  of  what  I 
say,  thou  wilt  persist  in  offering  the  mass,  and  not  thy  prayers 
only,  then  know  that  I  have  faithfully  warned  thee,  and  that  I 

N 


180  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

sliall  stand  clear  in  the  day  of  judgment,  whilst  thou  wilt  bear 
thine  own  sin.  I  have  said  what  I  was  bound  to  say  to  thee,  as 
a  brother  to  a  brother,  for  thy  salvation ;  it  will  be  to  thy 
profit  if  thou  take  heed  to  my  words,  to  thy  hurt  if  thou  neglect 
them.  And  if  there  are  some  who  will  condemn  these  statements 
of  mine,  I  reply  in  the  words  of  Paul :  "  Evil  men  and  seducers 
shall  wax  worse  and  worse,  deceiving,  and  being  deceived." 
(2  Tim.  iii.  13.) 

Hence  any  one  may  easily  understand  that  often-quoted 
passage  from  Gregory,  in  which  he  says  that  a  mass  celebrated 
by  a  bad  priest  is  not  to  be  considered  of  less  value  than  one 
by  a  good  priest,  and  that  one  celebrated  by  St.  Peter  would 
not  have  been  better  than  one  celebrated  by  the  traitor  Judas, 
Under  cover  of  this  saying  some  try  to  shelter  their  own 
impiety,  and  have  drawn  'a  distinction  between  the  opus 
operatum  and  the  opus  operans ;  that  they  might  continue 
secure  in  their  evil  living,  and  yet  pretend  to  be  benefactors 
to  others.  Gregory  indeed  speaks  the  truth,  but  these  men 
pervert  his  meaning.  It  is  most  true  that  the  testament  and 
sacrament  are  not  less  effectively  given  and  received  at  the 
hands  of  wicked  priests  than  at  tho;:;o  of  the  most  holy. 
Who  doubts  that  the  gospel  may  be  preached  by  wicked 
men  ?  Now  the  mass  is  a  part  of  the  gospel ;  nay,  the  very 
sum  and  compendium  of  the  gospel.  For  what  is  the  whole 
gospel  but  the  good  news  of  the  remission  of  sins  ?  Now 
all  that  can  be  said  in  the  most  ample  and  copious  words 
concerning  the  remission  of  sins  and  the  mercy  of  God,  is  all 
briefly  comprehended  in  the  word  of  the  testament.  Hence 
also  sermon3  to  the  people  ought  to  be  nothing  else  but 
expositions  of  the  mass,  that  is,  the  setting  forth  of  the  divine 
promise  of  this  testament.  This  would  be  to  teach  faith,  and 
truly  to  edify  the  Church.  But  those  who  now  expound  the 
mass  make  a  sport  and  mockery  of  the  subject  by  figures  of 
speech  derived  from  human  ceremonies. 

As  therefore  a  wicked  man  can  baptize,  that  is,  can  apply  the 
word  of  promise  and  the  sign  of  water  to  the  person  baptized, 
so  can  he  also  apply  and  minister  the  promise  of  this  sacra- 
ment to  those  who  partake  of  it,  and  partake  himself  with 
them,  as  the  traitor  Judas  did  in  the  supper  of  the  Lord. 
Still  the  sacrament  and  testament  remains  always  the  same  ;  it 


THE    BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  181 

performs  in  the  believer  its  own  proper  work,  in  the  unbeliever 
it  perlorins  a  work~foreign  to  itself.  But  in  the  matter  of 
oblatJionsTihe  case  is  quite  different ;  for  since  it  is  not  the  mass 
but  prayers  which  are  offered  to  God,  it  is  evident  that  the 
oblations  of  a  wicked  priest  are  of  no  value.  As  Gregory 
himself  says,  when  we  employ  an  unworthy  person  as  an 
advocate,  the  mind  of  the  judge  is  prejudiced  against  us.  We 
must  not  therefore  confound  these  two  things,  the  mass  and 
prayer,~sacrament  and  work,  testament  and  sacrifice.  The 
one  comes  from  God  to  us  through  the  ministry  of  the  priest, 
and  requires  faith  on  our  part ;  the  other  goes  forth  from  our 
faith  to  God  through  the  priest,  and  requires  that  He  should 
hear  us ;  the  one  comes  down,  the  other  goes  upwards.  The 
one  therefore  does  not  necessarily  require  that  the  minister 
should  be  worthy  and  pious,  but  the  other  does  require  it, 
because  God  does  not  hear  sinners.  He  knows  how  to  do  us 
good  by  means  of  wicked  men,  but  He  does  not  accept  the 
works  of  any  wicked  man,  as  He  showed  in  the  case  of  Cain. 
It  is  written  :  "  The  sacrifice  of  the  wicked  is  an  abomination 
to  the  Lord."  (Prov.  xv.  8) ;  and  again  :  "  Whatsoever  is  not  of 
faith  is  sin."    (Eom.  xiv.  23.) 

We  shall  now  make  an  end  of  this  first  part  of  the  subject, 
but  I  am  ready  to  produce  further  arguments  when  any  one 
comes  forward  to  attack  these.  From  all  that  has  been  said 
we  see  for  whom  the  mass  was  intended,  and  who  are  worthy 
partakers  of  it ;  namely,  those  alone  who  have  sad,  afflicted, 
disturbed,  confused,  and  erring  consciences.  For  since  the 
word  of  the  divine  promise  in  this  sacrament  holds  forth  to  us 
remission  of  sins,  any  man  may  safely  draw  near  to  it  who  is 
harassed  either  by  remorse  for  sin,  or  by  temptation  to  sin. 
This  testament  of  Christ  is  the  one  medicine  for  past,  present, 
and  future  sins ;  provided  thou  cleavest  to  it  with  unhesitating 
faith,  and  believest  that  that  which  is  signified  by  the  words  of 
the  testament  is  freely  given  to  thee.  If  thou  dost  not  so 
believe,  then  nowhere,  never,  by  no  works,  by  no  efforts,  wilt 
thou  be  able  to  appease  thy  conscience.  For  faith  is  the 
sole  peace  of  conscience,  and  unbelief  the  sole  disturber  of 
conscience. 


n  2 


182  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 


CONCEBNING  THE  SACEAMENT  OF  BAPTISM 

Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
who  according  to  the  riches  of  His  mercy  has  at  least 
preserved  this  one  sacrament  in  His  Church  uninjured  and 
uncontaminated  by  the  devices  of  men,  and  has  made  it  free  to 
all  nations  and  to  men  of  every  class.  He  has  not  suffered  it 
to  be  overwhelmed  with  the  foul  and  impious  monstrosities  of 
avarice  and  superstition  ;  doubtless  having  this  purpose,  that 
He  would  have  little  children,  incapable  of  avarice  and  super- 
stition, to  be  initiated  into  this  sacrament,  and  to  be  sanctified 
by  perfectly  simple  faith  in  His  word.  To  such,  even  at  the 
present  day,  baptism  is  of  the  highest  advantage.  (  If  this 
sacrament  had  been  intended  to  be  given  to  adults  and  those 
of  full  age,  it  seems  as  if  it  could  have  hardly  preserved  its 
efficacy  and  its  glory,  in  the  presence  of  that  tyranny  of  avarice 
and  superstition  which  has  supplanted  all  divine  ordinances 
among  us.  In  this  case  too,  no  doubt,  fleshly  wisdom  would 
have  invented  its  preparations,  its  worthinesses,  its  reserva- 
tions, its  restrictions,  and  other  like  nets  for  catching  money ; 
so  that  the  water  of  baptism  would  be  sold  no  cheaper  than 
parchments  are  now. 

Yet,  though  Satan  has  not  been  able  to  extinguish  the 
virtue  of  baptism  in  the  case  of  little  children,  still  he  has  had 
power  to  extinguish  it  in  all  adults ;  so  that  there  is  scarcely 
any  one  nowadays  who  remembers  that  he  has  been  baptized, 
much  less  glories  in  it ;  so  many  other  ways  having  been  found 
of  obtaining  remission  of  sins  and  going  to  heaven.  Occasion 
has  been  afforded  to  these  opinions  by  that  perilous  saying  of 
St.  Jerome,  either  misstated  or  misunderstood,  in  which  he 
calls  penitence  the  second  plank  of  safety  after  shipwreck ;  as  if 
baptism  were  not  penitence.  Hence,  when  men  have  fallen 
into  sin,  they  despair  of  the  first  plank,  or  the  ship,  as  being  no 
longer  of  any  use,  and  begin  to  trust  and  depend  only  on  the 
second  plank,  that  is,  on  penitence.     Thence  have  sprung  those 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  183 

infinite  loads  of  vows,  religious  dedications,  works,  satisfactions, 
pilgrimages,  indulgences,  and  systems ;  and  from  them  those 
oceans  of  books  and  of  human  questionings,  opinions,  and  tradi- 
tions, which  the  whole  world  nowadays  cannot  contain.  Thus 
this  tyranny  possesses  the  Church  of  God  in  an  incomparably 
worse  form  than  it  ever  possessed  the  synagogue,  or  any  nation 
under  heaven. 

It  was  the  duty  of  Bishops  to  remove  all  these  abuses,  and 
to  make  every  effort  to  recall  Christians  to  the  simplicity  of 
baptism ;  that  so  they  might  understand  their  own  position, 
and  what  as  Christians  they  ought  to  do.  But  the  one  busi-  --, 
ness  of  Bishops  at  the  present  day  is  to  lead  the  people  as 
far  as  possible  away  from  baptism  and  to  plunge  them  all 
under  the  deluge  of  their  own  tyranny ;  and  thus,  as  the 
prophet  says,  to  make  the  people  of  Christ  forget  Him  for 
ever.  Oh  wretched  men  who  are  called  by  the  name  of 
Bishops !  they  not  only  do  nothing  and  know  nothing  which 
Bishops  ought,  but  they  are  even  ignorant  what  they  ought  to 
know  and  do.  They  fulfil  the  words  of  Isaiah :  "  His  watch- 
men are  blind  ;  they  are  all  ignorant ;  they  are  shepherds  that 
cannot  understand  ;  they  all  look  to  their  own  way,  every  one 
for  his  gain,  from  his  quarter."  (Is.  lvi.  10,  11.) 

The  first  thing  then  we  have  to  notice  in  baptism  is  the  j  \ 
divine  promise,  which  says :  He  who  believes  and  is  baptized  I  J 
shall  be  saved.      This  promise  is  to  be  infinitely  preferred  to: 
the  whole  display  of  works,  vows,  religious  orders,  and  what- 
ever has  been  introduced  by  the  invention  of  man.  (  On  this  J 
promise  depends  our  whole  salvation,  and  we  must  take  heed 
to  exercise  faith  in  it,  not  doubting  at  all  that  we  are  saved, 
since  we  have  been  baptized.     Unless  this  faith  exists  and  is 
applied,  baptism  profits  us  nothing  ;  nay,  it  is  hurtful  to  us,  not 
only  at  the  time  when  it  is  received,  but  in  the  whole  course  of 
our  after  life.     For  unbelief  of  this  kind  charges  the  divine  pro- 
mise with  falsehood ;  and  to  do  this  is  the  greatest  of  all  sins. 
If  we  attempt  this  exercise  of  faith,  we  shall  soon  see  how  difficult 
a  thing  it  is  to  believe  this  divine  promise.     For  human  weak- 
ness, conscious  of  its  own  sinfulness,  finds  it  the  most  difficult 
thing  in  the  world  to  believe  that  it  is  saved,  or  can  be  saved  ; 
and  yet,  unless  it  believes  this,  it  cannot  be  saved,  because  it 
does  not  believe  the  divine  truth  which  promises  salvation. 


184  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

This  doctrine  ought  to  have  been  studiously  inculcated  upon 
the  people  by  preaching;  this  promise  ought  to  have  been 
perpetually  reiterated ;  men  ought  to  have  been  constantly 
;  reminded  of  their  baptism  ;  faith  ought  to  have  been  called 
'  forth  and  nourished.  When  this  divine  promise  has  been  once 
conferred  upon  us,  its  truth  continues  even  to  the  hour  of  our 
death ;  and  thus  our  faith  in  it  ought  never  to  be  relaxed,  but 
ought  to  be  nourished  and  strengthened  even  till  we  die,  by  a 
-  perpetual  recollection  of  the  promise  made  to  us  in  baptism. 
Thus,  when  we  rise  out  of  our  sins  and  exercise  penitence, 
we  are  simply  reverting  to  the  efficacy  of  baptism  and  to 
faith  in  it,  whence  we  had  fallen ;  and  we  return  to  the  pro- 
mise then  made  to  us,  but  which  we  had  abandoned  through 
our  sin.  "For  the  truth  of  the  promise  once  made  always 
abides,  and  is  ready  to  stretch  out  the  hand  and  receive  us 
when  we  return.  This,  unless  I  mistake,  is  the  meaning  of 
,  that  obscure  saying,  that  baptism  is  the  first  of  sacraments 
and  the  foundation  of  them  all,  without  which  we  can  possess 
none  of  the  others. 

Thus  it  will  be  of  no  little  profit  to  a  penitent,  first  of 
all  to  recall  to  mind  his  own  baptism,  and  to  remember  with 
confidence  that  divine  promise  which  he  had  deserted  ;  rejoic- 
m  l,ing  (that  he  is  still  in  a  fortress  of  safety,  in  that  he  has  been 
baptized  \  and  detesting  his  own  wicked  ingratitude  in  having 
fallen  away  from  the  faith  and  truth  of  baptism.  His  heart 
will  be  marvellously  comforted,  and  encouraged  to  hope  for 
mercy,  if  he  fixes  his  eyes  upon  that  divine  promise  once 
made  to  him,  which  could  not  lie,  and  which  still  continues 
entire,  unchanged,  and  unchangeable  by  any  sins  of  his;  as 
Paul  says :  "  If  we  believe  not,  yet  He  abideth  faithful ;  He 
cannot  deny  Himself."  (2  Tim.  ii.  13.)  This  truth  of  God 
will  preserve  him ;  and  even  if  all  other  hopes  perish,  this,  if 
he  believes  it,  will  not  fail  him.  Through  this  truth  ho  will 
have  something  to  oppose  to  the  insolent  adversary ;  he  will 
have  a  barrier  to  throw  in  the  way  of  the  sins  which  disturb 
his  conscience ;  he  will  have  an  answer  to  the  dread  of  death 
and  judgment ;  finally,  he  will  have  a  consolation  under  every 
kind  of  temptation,  in  being  able  to  say :  God  is  faithful  to 
His  promise  ;  and  in  baptism  I  received  the  sign  of  that 
promise.     If  God  is  for  me,  who  can  be  against  me  ? 


THE    BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  185 

If  the  children  of  Israel,  when  returning  to  God  in  repent- 
ance, first  of  all  called  to  mind  their  exodus  from  Egypt,  and 
in  remembrance  of  this  turned  back  to  God,  who  had  brought 
them  out — a  remembrance  which  is  so  often  inculcated  on 
them  by  Moses,  and  referred  to  by  David — how  much  more 
ought  we  to  remember  our  exodus  from  Egypt,  and  in  remem- 
brance of  it  to  return  to  Him  who  brought  us  out  through  the 
washing  of  the  new  birth.  Now  this  we  can  do  most  advan- 
tageously of  all  in  the  sacrament  of  the  bread  and  wine.  So 
of  old  these  three  sacraments,  penitence,  baptism,  and  the 
bread,  were  often  combined  in  the  same  act  of  worship  ;  and 
the  one  added  strength  to  the  other.  Thus  we  read  of  a 
certain  holy  virgin  who,  whenever  she  was  tempted,  relied  on 
her  baptism  only  for  defence,  saying,  in  the  briefest  words :  "  I 
j  am  a  Christian."  The  enemy  forthwith  felt  the  efficacy  of 
baptism,  and  of  the  faith  which  depended  on  the  truth  of  a 
promising  God,  and  fled  from  her. 

We  see  then  how  rich  a  Christian,  or  baptized  man,  is  ;  \\ 
since,  even  if  he  would,  he  cannot  lose  his  salvation  by  any  I 
sins  however  great,  unless  he  refuses  to  believe ;  for  no  sins 
whatever  can  condemn  him,  but  unbelief  alone..  All  other 
sins,  if  faith  in  the  divine  promise  made  to  the  baptized  man 
stands  firm  or  is  restored,  are  swallowed  up  in  a  moment 
through  that  same  faith ;  yea,  through  the  truth  of  God, 
because  He  cannot  deny  Himself,  if  thou  confess  Him,  and 
cleave  believingly  to  His  promise.  "Whereas  contrition,  and 
confession  of  sins,  and  satisfaction  for  sins,  and  every  effort 
that  can  be  devised  by  men,  will  desert  thee  at  thy  need,  and 
will  make  thee  more  miserable  than  ever,  if  thou  forgettest 
this  divine  truth  and  puffest  thyself  up  with  such  things  as 
these.  For  whatever  work  is  wrought  apart  from  faith  in  the 
truth  of  God  is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit. 

We  also  see  how  perilous  and  false  an  idea  it  is  that 
penitence  is  a  second  plank  of  refuge  after  shipwreck ;  and 
how  pernicious  an  error  it  is  to  suppose  that  the  virtue  of 
baptism  has  been  brought  to  an  end  by  sin,  and  that  this  ship 
has  been  dashed  to  pieces.  That  ship  remains  one,  solid,  and 
indestructible,  and  can  never  be  broken  up  into  different 
planks.  In  it  all  are  conveyed  who  are  carried  to  the  port  of 
salvation,  since  it  is  the  truth  of  God  giving  promises  in  the 


186  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

sacraments.  What  certainly  does  happen  is  that  many  rashly 
leap  out  of  the  ship  into  the  sea  and  perish  ;  these  are  they  who 
abandon  faith  in  the  promise  and  rush  headlong  into  sin.  But 
the  ship  itself  abides,  and  passes  on  safely  in  its  course ;  and 
any  man  who,  by  the  grace  of  God,  returns  to  the  ship,  will  be 
borne  on  to  life,  not  on  a  plank,  but  on  the  solid  ship  itself. 
Such  a  man  is  he  who  returns  by  faith  to  the  fixed  and 
abiding  promise  of  God.  Thus  Peter  charges  those  who  sin 
with  having  forgotten  that  they  were  purged  from  their  old 
sins  (2  Peter  i.  9) ;  doubtless  meaning  to  reprove  their 
ingratitude  for  the  baptism  they  had  received,  and  the  impiety 
of  their  unbelief. 

What  profit  then  is  there  in  writing  so  much  about  baptism, 
and  yet  not  teaching  faith  in  the  promise  ?  All  the  sacraments 
were  instituted  for  the  purpose  of  nourishing  faith,  and  yet  so 
far  are  they  from  attaining  this  object,  that  men  are  even 
found  impious  enough  to  assert  that  a  man  ought  not  to  be  sure 
of  the  remission  of  sins,  or  of  the  grace  of  the  sacraments.  By 
this  impious  doctrine  they  deprive  the  whole  world  of  its 
senses,  and  utterly  extinguish,  or  at  least  bring  into  bondage 
that  sacrament  of  baptism,  in  which  the  first  glory  of  our 
conscience  stands.  Meanwhile  they  senselessly  persecute 
wretched  souls  with  their  contritions,  their  anxious  confes- 
sions, their  circumstances,  satisfactions,  works,  and  an  infinity 
of  such  trifles.  Let  us  then  read  with  caution,  or  rather  despise 
the  Master  of  Sentences  (Book  iv.)  with  all  his  followers  ;  who, 
when  they  write  their  best,  write  only  about  the  matter  and 
form  of  the  sacraments,  and  so  handle  only  the  dead  and 
perishing  letter  of  those  sacraments,  while  they  do  not  even 
touch  upon  their  spirit,  life,  and  use ;  that  is,  the  truth  of  the 
divine  promise,  and  faith  on  our  part. 

See  then  that  thou  be  not  deceived  by  the  display  of  works, 
and  by  the  fallacies  of  human  traditions,  and  so  wrong  the 
^_  truth  of  God  and  thy  own  faith.  If  thou  wilt  be  saved,  thou 
must  begin  by  faith  in  the  sacraments,  without  any  works. 
Thy  faith  will  be  followed  by  these  very  works,  but  thou  must 
not  hold  faith  cheap,  for  it  is  itself  the  most  excellent  and 
most  difficult  of  all  works,  and  by  it  alone  thou  wilt  be  saved, 
even  if  thou  wert  compelled  to  be  destitute  of  all  other  works. 
For  it  is  a  work  of  God,  not  of  man,  as  Paul  teaches.     All 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  187 

other  works  He  performs  with  us,  and  hy  us ;  this  one  work 
He  performs  in  us  and  without  us. 

From  what  has  been  said  we  may  clearly  distinguish  the 
difference  between  man  the  minister  and  God  the  Author  of 
baptism.  Man  baptizes  and  does  not  baptize  ;  he  baptizes, 
because  he  performs  the  work  of  dipping  the  baptized  person  ; 
he  does  not  baptize,  because  in  this  work  he  does  not  act  upon 
his  own  authority,  but  in  the  place  of  God.  Hence  we  ought 
to  receive  baptism  from  the  hand  of  man  just  as  if  Christ 
Himself,  nay,  God  Himself,  were  baptizing  us  with  His  own 
hands.  For  it  is  not  a  man's  baptism,  but  that  of  Christ  and 
God ;  though  we  receive  it  by  the  hand  of  a  man.  Even  so 
any  other  creature  which  we  enjoy  through  the  hand  of 
another  is  really  only  God's.  Beware  then  of  making  any 
such  distinction  in  baptism,  as  to  attribute  the  outward  rite  to 
man,  and  the  inward  blessing  to  God.  Attribute  both  of  them 
to  God  alone,  and  consider  the  person  of  him  who  confers 
baptism  in  no  other  light  than  as  the  vicarious  instrument 
of  God,  by  means  of  which  the  Lord  sitting  in  heaven  dips 
thee  in  the  water  with  His  own  hands,  and  promises  thee 
remission  of  sins  upon  earth,  speaking  to  thee  with  the  voice 
of  a  man  through  the  mouth  of  His  minister. 

The  very  words  of  the  minister  tell  thee  this,  when  he 
says  :  "  I  baptize  thee  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the 
Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Amen."  He  does  not  say : 
"  I  baptize  thee  in  my  name ;  "  but  says,  as  it  were  :  "  "What 
I  do,  I  do  not  by  my  own  authority,  but  in  the  place  and  in 
the  name  of  God;  and  thou  must  look  upon  it  as  if  the  Lord 
Himself  did  it  in  visible  shape.  The  Author  and  the  minister 
are  different,  but  the  work  of  both  is  the  same ;  nay,  rather  it 
is  that  of  the  Author  alone  through  my  ministry."  In  my 
judgment  the  expression,  "  In  the  name,"  relates  to  the  person 
of  the  Author,  so  that  not  only  is  the  name  of  the  Lord 
brought  forward  and  invoked  in  the  doing  of  the  work,  but 
the  work  itself  is  performed,  as  being  that  of  another,  in  the 
name  and  in  the  place  of  another.  By  the  like  figure  Christ 
says:  "Many  shall  come  in  my  name."  (Matt.  xxiv.  5.) 
And  again :  "  By  whom  we  have  received  grace  and  apostle- 
ship,  for  obedience  to  the  faith  among  all  nations,  for  his 
name."   (Eom.  i.  5.) 


188  LUTHEE'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

I  most  gladly  adopt  this  view ;  because  it  is  a  thing  most 
full  of  consolation,  and  an  effective  aid  to  faith,  to  know  that 
we  have  been  baptized,  not  by  a  man,  but  by  the  very  Trinity 
Itself  through  a  man,  who  acts  towards  us  in  Its  name.  This 
brings  to  an  end  that  idle  contention  which  is  carried  on  about 
the  "  form  "  of  baptism — as  they  call  the  words  themselves— 
the  Greeks  saying  :  "  Let  the  servant  of  Christ  be  baptized  ;  " 
the  Latins  :  "  I  baptize."  Others  also,  in  their  pedantic  trifling, 
condemn  the  use  of  the  expression :  "  I  baptize  thee  in  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ " — though  it  is  certain  that  the  Apostles 
baptized  in  this  form,  as  we  read  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles — 
and  will  have  it  that  no  other  form  is  valid  than  the  follow- 
ing :  "  I  baptize  thee  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the 
Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Amen."  But  they  strive  in 
vain ;  they  prove  nothing ;  they  only  bring  forward  their  own 
dreams.  In  whatever  manner  baptism  is  administered,  pro- 
vided it  is  administered,  not  in  the  name  of  a  man,  but  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  it  truly  saves  us.  Nay,  I  have  no  doubt 
that  if  a  man  received  baptism  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  even 
from  a  wicked  minister  who  did  not  give  it  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  he  would  still  be  truly  baptized  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord.  For  the  efficacy  of  baptism  depends  not  so  much  on  the 
faith  of  him  who  confers  it,  as  of  him  who  receives  it.  Thus  we 
read  an  instance  of  a  certain  player  who  was  baptized  in  jest. 
These  and  similar  narrow  questions  and  disputes  have  been 
raised  for  us  by  those  who  attribute  nothing  to  faith,  and 
everything  to  works  and  ceremonies.  On  the  contrary,  we 
owe  nothing  to  ceremonies,  and  everything  to  faith  alone, 
which  makes  us  free  in  spirit  from  all  these  scruples  and 
fancies. 

,  Another  thing  which  belongs  to  baptism  is  the  sign  or 
sacrament,  which  is  that  dipping  into  water  whence  it  takes  its 

)  name.  For  in  Greek  to  baptize  signifies  to  dip,  and  baptism 
is  a  dipping.  We  have  said  already  that,  side  by  side  with  the 
divine  promises,  signs  also  are  given  us,  to  represent  by  a 
figure  the  meaning  of  the  words  of  the  promise ;  or,  as  the 
moderns  say,  the  sacrament  has  an  effectual  significance. 
"What  that  significance  is  we  shall  see.  Very  many  have 
thought  that  in  the  word  and  the  water  there  is  some  occult 
spiritual  virtue,  which  works  the  grace  of  God  in  the  soul  of 


TH'J   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  189 

the  recipient.  Others  deny  this,  and  declare  that  there  is  no 
virtue  in  the  sacraments,  but  that  grace  is  given  by  God  alone, 
who,  according  to  His  covenant,  is  present  at  the  sacraments 
instituted  by  Himself.  All  however  agree  in  this,  that  the 
sacraments  are  effectual  signs  of  grace.  They  are  led  to  this 
conclusion  by  this  one  argument,  that  it  does  not  otherwise 
appear  what  pre-eminence  the  sacraments  of  the  new  law  would 
have  over  those  of  the  old,  if  they  were  only  signs.  Hence 
they  have  been  driven  to  attribute  such  efficacy  to  the 
sacraments  of  the  new  law,  that  they  have  stated  them  to  be 
profitable  even  to  those  who  are  in  mortal  sin ;  and  have 
declared  that  neither  faith  nor  grace  are  requisite,  but  that  it 
is  sufficient  that  we  do  not  place  any  impediment  in  the  way, 
that  is,  any  actual  purpose  of  sinning  afresh. 

We  must  carefully  avoid  and  fly  from  these  doctrines,  for 
7  they  are  impious  and  unbelieving,  repugnant  to  faith  and  to 
the  nature  of  the  sacraments.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that 
the  sacraments  of  the  new  law  differ  from  the  sacraments  of 
the  old  law  as  regards  the  efficacy  of  their  significance.  Both 
are  on  an  equality  in  their  significance ;  for  the  same  God  who 
now  saves  us  by  baptism  and  the  bread,  saved  Abel  by  his 
sacrifice,  Noah  by  the  Ark,  Abraham  by  circumcision,  and  all 
the  other  Patriarchs  by  their  own  proper  signs.  There  is  no 
difference  then  between  a  sacrament  of  the  old  and  of  the  new 
law,  as  regards  their  significance ;  provided  we  understand  by 
the  old  law  all  the  dealings  of  God  with  the  Patriarchs  and  other 
Fathers  in  the  time  of  the  law.  For  those  signs  which  were 
given  to  the  Patriarchs  and  Fathers  are  completely  distinct 
from  the  legal  figures  which  Moses  instituted  in  his  law ;  such 
as  the  rites  of  the  priesthood,  in  relation  to  vestments,  vessels, 
food,  houses,  and  the  like.  These  are  as  different  as  possible, 
not  only  from  the  sacraments  of  the  new  law,  but  also  from 
those  signs  which  God  gave  from  time  to  time  to  the  Fathers 
who  lived  under  the  law ;  such  as  that  given  to  Gideon  in  the 
fleece,  to  Manoah  in  his  sacrifice  ;  such  also  as  that  which 
Isaiah  offered  to  Ahaz.  In  all  these  cases  alike,  some  promise 
was  given  which  required  faith  in  God. 

In  this  then  the  figures  of  the  law  differ  from  signs  new  or 
old,  that  the  figures  of  the  law  have  no  word  of  promise 
annexed  to  them,  requiring  faith,  and  therefore  are  not  signs 


190  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WOBXS 

of  justification,  inasmuch  as  they  are  not  sacraments  of  faith, 
which   alone  justify,  but   only  sacraments   of  works.     Their 

L  whole  force  and  nature  lay  in  works,  not  in  faith ;  for  he  who 
did  them  fulfilled  them,  even  if  his  work  was  without  faith. 
Now  our  signs  or  sacraments  and  those  of  the  Fathers  have 
annexed  to  them  a  word  of  promise,  which  requires  faith,  and 
can  be  fulfilled  by  no  other  work.  Thus  they  are  signs  or 
sacraments  of  justification,  because  they  are  sacraments  of 
justifying  faith  and  not  of  works ;  so  that  their  whole  efficacy 
lies  in  faith  itself,  not  in  working.  He  who  believes  them 
fulfils  them,  even  though  he  do  no  work.  Hence  the  saying  : 
\lt  is  not  the  sacrament,  but  faith  in  the  sacrament  which 
Justifies.  Thus  circumcision  did  not  justify  Abraham  and  his 
seed  ;  and  yet  the  Apostle  calls  it  a  seal  of  the  righteousness  of 
faith,  because  faith  in  that  promise  with  which  circumcision 
was  connected  did  justify,  and  fulfilled  the  meaning  of  circum- 
cision. Faith  was  that  circumcision  of  the  heart  in  spirit, 
which  was  figured  by  the  circumcision  of  the  flesh  in  the  letter. 
Thus  it  was  evidently  not  the  sacrifice  of  Abel  which  justified 
him,  but  the  faith  by  which  he  offered  himself  entirely  to  God ; 
of  which  faith  the  outward  sacrifice  was  a  figure. 

Thus  it  is  not  baptism  which  justifies  any  man,  or  is  of  any 

j  advantage;  but  faith  in  that  word  of  promise  to  which 
baptism  is  added ;  for  this  justifies,  and  fulfils  the  meaning  of 
baptism.  For  faith  is  the  submerging  of  the  old  man,  and  the 
:  emerging  of  the  new  man.  Hence  it  cannot  be  that  the  new 
\  sacraments  differ  from  the  ancient  sacraments,  for  they  both 
alike  have  divine  promises  and  the  same  spirit  of  faith ;  but 
they  differ  incomparably  from  the  ancient  figures,  on  account 

—  of  the  word  of  promise,  which  is  the  sole  and  most  effective 
means  of  difference.  Thus  at  the  present  day  the  pomp  of 
vestments,  localities,  meats,  and  an  infinite  variety  of  cere- 
monies, doubtless  figure  excellent  works  to  be  fulfilled  in  the 
spirit ;  and  yet,  since  no  word  of  divine  promise  is  connected 
with  them,  they  can  in  no  way  be  compared  with  the  signs 
of  baptism  and  the  bread.  Nor  can  they  justify  men  nor 
profit  them  in  any  way,  since  their  fulfilment  lies  in  the 
very  practice  or  performance  of  them  without  faith ;  for 
when  they  are  done  or  performed,  they  are  fulfilled.  Thus 
the  Apostle  speaks  of  those  things,  "  which  all  are  to  perish 


\ 


THE    BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  191 

with  the  using ;  after  the  commandments  and  doctrines  of 
men."  (Col,  ii.  22.)  Now  the  sacraments  are  not  fulfilled  by 
being  done,  but  by  being  believed. 

Thus  it  cannot  be  true  that  there  is  inherent  in  the  Sacra-   * 
ments  a  power  effectual  to  produce  justification,  or  that  they  are 
efficacious  signs  of  grace.    These  things  are  said  in  ignorance  of 
the  divine  promise  and  to  the  great  detriment  of  faith ;  unless 
indeed  we  call  them  efficacious  in  this  sense,  that,  if  along  with 
them  there  be  unhesitating  faith,  they  do  confer  grace  most 
certainly  and  most  effectually.     But  that  it  is  not  this  kind  of 
efficacy  which  those  writers  attribute  to  them  is  evident  from 
this,  that  they  assert  them  to  be  profitable  to  all  men,  even 
the  wicked  and  unbelieving,  provided  they  put  no  obstacle  in 
the  way  ;  as  if  unbelief  itself  were  not  the  most  persistent  of 
all  obstacles,  and  the  most  hostile  to  grace.     Thus  they  have 
endeavoured  to  make  out  of  the  sacrament  a  precept,  and  out 
of  faith  a  work.      For  if  a  sacrament    confers  grace  on  me, 
merely  because  I  receive  it,  then  it  is  certainly  by  my  own 
work  and  not  by  faith  that  I  obtain  grace  ;  nor  do  I  apprehend 
any  promise  in  the  sacrament,  but  only  a  sign  instituted  and 
commanded   by   Gk>d.     It    is    evident  from    this   how   utterly 
the   sacraments   are   misunderstood   by   these   theologians    of 
the  Sentences,  inasmuch  as  they  make  no  account  either   of 
faith   or  of  the  promise   in   the  sacraments,   but  cleave   only 
to  the  sign  and  the  use  of  the  sign,  and  carry  us  away  from 
faith    to    works,   from   the   word    to   the   sign.      Thus,    as  I 
have  said,  they  have  not  only   brought  the   sacraments  into 
bondage,  but,  as  far  as  in  them  lay,  have  entirely  done  away 
with  them. 

Let  us  then  open  our  eyes,  and  learn  to  look  more  to  the 
word  than  the  sign,  more  to  faith  than  to  the  work  or  use  of 
the  sign ;  and  let  us  understand  that  wherever  there  is  a 
divine  promise,  there  faith  is  required ;  and  that  both  of  these 
are  so  necessary  that  neither  can  be  of  any  effect  without  the 
other.  We  can  neither  believe  unless  we  have  a  promise,  nor  is 
the  promise  effectual  unless  it  is  believed  ;  while  if  these  two 
act  reciprocally,  they  produce  a  real  and  sure  efficacy  in  the 
sacraments.  Hence  to  seek  efficacy  in  the  sacrament  inde- 
pendently of  the  promise  and  of  faith  is  to  strive  in  vain 
and  to  fall  into  condemnation.     Thus  Christ  says :   "  He  that 


y 


192  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY    WORKS 

believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved,  but  he  that  believeth 
not  shall  be  damned."  (Mark  xvi.  16.)  Thus  He  shows  that 
in  the  sacrament  faith  is  so  necessary  that  it  can  save  us 
even  without  the  sacrament ;  and  on  this  account  when  He 
says  :  "  He  that  believeth  not,"  He  does  not  add :  "  and  is  not 
baptized." 

Baptism  then  signifies  two  things,  death  and  resurrection  ; 
that  is,  full  and  complete  justification.  When  the  minister 
dips  the  child  into  the  water,  this  signifies  death ;  when  he 
draws  him  out  again,  this  signifies  life.  Thus  Paul  explains 
the  matter :  "  Therefore  we  are  buried  with  him  by  baptism 
into  death;  that  like  as  Christ  was  raised  up  from  the  dead  by 
the  glory  of  the  Father,  even  so  we  also  should  walk  in 
newness  of  life."  (Rom.  vi.  4.)  This  death  and  resurrection  we 
call  a  new  creation,  a  regeneration,  and  a  spiritual  birth ;  and 
these  words  are  not  only  to  be  understood  allegorically,  as 
they  are  by  many,  of  the  death  of  sin  and  the  life  of  grace, 
but  of  a  real  death  and  resurrection.  For  baptism  has  no 
fictitious  meaning,  nor  does  sin  die  or  grace  rise  fully  within 
us,  until  the  body  of  sin  which  we  bear  in  this  life  is  destroyed ; 
for,  as  the  Apostle  says,  as  long  as  we  are  in  the  flesh,  the 
desires  of  the  flesh  work  in  us  and  are  worked  upon.  Hence 
when  we  begin  to  believe,  we  begin  at  the  same  time  to  die  to  this 
world,  and  to  live  to  God  in  a  future  life ;  so  that  faith  is  truly 
a  death  and  resurrection  ;  that  is,  that  spiritual  baptism  in 
which  we  are  submerged  and  emerge. 

"When  then  the  washing  away  of  sins  is  attributed  to 
baptism,  it  is  rightly  so  attributed ;  but  the  meaning  of  the 
phrase  is  too  slight  and  weak  to  fully  express  baptism,  which 
is  rather  a  symbol  of  death  and  resurrection.  For  this  reason 
I  could  wish  that  the  baptized  should  be  totally  immersed, 
according  to  the  meaning  of  the  word  and  the  signification  of 
the  mystery ;  not  that  I  think  it  necessary  to  do  so,  but  that 
it  would  be  well  that  so  complete  and  perfect  a  thing  as 
baptism  should  have  its  sign  also  in  completeness  and  perfec- 
tion, even  as  it  was  doubtless  instituted  by  Christ.  For  a 
sinner  needs  not  so  much  to  be  washed  as  to  die,  that  he  may 
be  altogether  renewed  into  another  creature,  and  that  there 
may  thus  be  a  correspondence  in  him  to  the  death  and  resur- 
rection of  Christ  along  with  whom  he  dies  and  rises  again  in 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  193 

baptism.  For  though  we  may  say  that  Christ  was  washed 
from  His  mortality  when  Pie  died  and  rose  again,  yet  it  is  a 
weaker  expression  than  if  we  said  that  He  was  totally  changed 
and  renewed ;  and  so  there  is  more  intensity  in  saying  that 
death  and  resurrection  to  eternal  life  are  signified  to  us  by 
baptism,  than  that  we  are  washed  from  sin. 

Here  again  we  see  that  the  sacrament  of  baptism,  even  in  . 
respect  to  the  sign,  is  not  the  mere  business  of  a  moment,  but  ] 
has  a  lasting  character.  For  though  the  transaction  itself 
passes  quickly,  the  thing  signified  by  it  lasts  even  until  death, 
yea,  till  the  resurrection  at  the  last  day.  For  as  long  as  we 
live  we  are  always  doing  that  which  is  signified  by  baptism ; 
that  is,  we  are  dying  and  rising  again.  We  are  dying,  I  say, 
not  only  in  our  affections  and  spiritually,  by  renouncing  the 
sins  and  vanities  of  the  world,  but  in  very  deed  we  are 
beginning  to  leave  this  bodily  life  and  to  apprehend  the  future 
life,  so  that  there  is  a  real  (as  they  call  it)  and  also  a  bodily 
passing  out  of  this  world  to  the  Father. 

We  must  therefore  keep  clear  of  the  error  of  those  who 
have  reduced  the  effect  of  baptism  to  such  small  and  slender 
dimensions  that,  while  they  say  that  grace  is  infused  by  it, 
they  assert  that  this  grace  is  afterwards,  so  to  speak,  effused  by 
sin  ;  and  that  we  must  then  go  to  heaven  by  some  other  way, 
as  if  baptism  had  now  became  absolutely  useless.  Do  not  thou 
judge  thus,  but  understand  that  the  significance  of  baptism 
is  such  that  thou  mayest  live  and  die  in  it  ;  and  that  neither 
by  penitence  nor  by  any  other  way  canst  thou  do  aught  but 
•  return  to  the  effect  of  baptism,  and  do  afresh  what  thou  wert 
baptized  in  order  to  do,  and  what  thy  baptism  signified. 
-_  .  Baptism  never  loses  its  effect,  unless  in  desperation  thou  refuse 
to  return  to  salvation.  Thou  mayst  wander  away  for  a  time 
from  the  sign,  but  the  sign  does  not  on  that  account  lose  its 
effect.  Thus  thou  hast  been  baptized  once  for  all  sacramentally, 
but  thou  needest  continually  to  be  baptized  by  faith,  and  must 
continually  die  and  continually  live.  Baptism  hath  swallowed 
up  thy  whole  body  and  given  it  forth  again ;  and  so  the 
substance  of  baptism  ought  to  swallow  up  thy  whole  life,  in 
body  and  in  soul,  and  to  give  it  back  in  the  last  day,  clothed 
in  the  robe  of  brightness  and  immortality.  Thus  we  are 
never  without  the  sign  as  well  as  the  substance  of  baptism ; 


194  LUTHEE'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

nay,  we  ought  to  be  continually  baptized  more  and  more, 
until  we  fulfil  the  wliole  meaning  of  the  sign  at  the  last 
day. 

We  see  then  that  whatever  we  do  in  this  life  tending  to 
»*-~i  jthe  mortifying  of  the  flesh  and  the  vivifying  of  the  spirit  is 
connected  with  baptism ;  and  that  the  sooner  we  are  set  free 
^  I  from  this  life,  the  more  speedily  we  fulfil  the  meaning  of  our 
baptism ;  and  the  greater  the  sufferings  we  endure,  the  more 
happily  do  we  answer  the  purpose  of  baptism.  The  Church 
was  at  its  happiest  in  those  days  when  martyrs  were  daily 
put  to  death  and  counted  as  sheep  for  the  slaughter ;  for 
then  the  virtue  of  baptism  reigned  in  the  Church  with  full 
power,  though  now  we  have  quite  lost  sight  of  it  for  the 
multitude  of  human  works  and  doctrine.  The  whole  life  which 
we  live  ought  to  be  a  baptism,  and  to  fulfil  the  sign  or 
sacrament  of  baptism ;  since  we  have  been  set  free  from  all 
other  things  and  given  up  to  baptism  alone,  that  is,  to  death 
and  resurrection. 

To  whom  can  we  assign  the  blame  that  this  glorious  liberty 
of  ours  and  this  knowledge  of  baptism  are  nowadays  in  bondage, 
except  only  to  the  tyranny  of  the  Koman  Pontiff?  He  most  of 
all  men,  as  becomes  a  chief  shepherd,  ought  to  have  been  the 
preacher  and  the  asserter  of  this  liberty  and  this  knowledge ; 
as  Paul  says  :  "  Let  a  man  so  account  of  us,  as  of  the  ministers 
of  Christ,  and  stewards  of  the  mysteries  of  God."  (1  Cor.  iv.  1.) 
But  his  sole  object  is  to  oppress  us  by  his  decrees  and  laws, 
and  to  ensnare  us  into  bondage  to  his  tyrannical  power.  Not 
to  speak  of  the  impious  and  damnable  way  in  which  the  Pope 
fails  to  teach  these  mysteries,  by  what  right,  I  ask,  has  he 
established  laws  over  us?  Who  has  given  him  authority  to 
bring  into  bondage  this  liberty  of  ours,  given  us  by  baptism  ?  / 
One  purpose,  as  I  have  said,  we  ought  to  carry  out  in  our 
whole  lives,  namely,  to  be  baptized,  that  is,  to  be  mortified, 
and  to  live  by  faith  in  Christ.  This  faith  alone  ought  to  liave 
been  taught,  above  all  by  the  chief  shepherd.  But  now  not  a 
word  is  said  about  faith,  but  the  Church  is  crushed  by  an 
infinite  number  of  laws  concerning  works  and  ceremonies  ;  the 
virtue  and  knowledge  of  baptism  are  taken  away  ;  the  faith  of 
Christ  is  hindered. 

I  say  then,  neither  Pope,  nor  bishop,  nor  any  man  what- 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  195 

'ever  has  the  right  of  making  one  syllable  binding  on  a  / 
Christian  man,  unless  it  is  done  with  his  own  consent.  What 
ever  is  done  otherwise  is  done  in  a  spirit  of  tyranny  ;  and  thus 
the  prayers,  fastings,  almsgiving,  and  whatever  else  the  Pope 
ordains  and  requires  in  the  whole  body  of  his  decrees,  which 
are  as  many  as  they  are  iniquitous,  he  has  absolutely  no  right 
to  require  and  ordain ;  and  he  sins  against  the  liberty  of  the 
Church  as  often  as  he  attempts  anything  of  the  kind.  Hence 
it  has  come  to  pass  that  while  the  churchmen  of  the  present 
day  are  strenuous  defenders  of  church  liberty,  that  is,  of  wood, 
stone,  fields,  and  money  (for  in  this  day  things  ecclesiastical 
are  synonymous  with  things  spiritual),  they  yet,  by  their  false 
teaching,  not  only  bring  into  bondage  the  true  liberty  of  the 
Church,  but  utterly  destroy  it ;  yea,  more  than  the  Turk 
himself  could ;  contrary  to  the  mind  of  the  Apostle,  who  says  : 
"  Be  not  ye  the  servants  of  men."  (1  Cor.  vii.  23.)  "We  are 
indeed  made  servants  of  men,  when  we  are  subjected  to  their 
tyrannical  ordinances  and  laws. 

This  wicked  and  flagitious  tyranny  is  aided  by  the  disciples 
of  the  Pope,  who  distort  and  pervert  to  this  end  the  saying  of 
Christ :  "  He  who  heareth  you  heareth  me."  They  swell  out 
these  words  into  a  support  for  their  own  traditions;  whereas 
this  saying  was  addressed  by  Christ  to  the  Apostles  when  they 
were  going  forth  to  preach  the  gospel,  and  therefore  ought  to 
be  understood  as  referring  to  the  gospel  alone.  These  men, 
however,  leave  the  gospel  out  of  sight,  and  make  this  saying 
fit  in  with  their  own  inventions.  Christ  says  :  "  My  sheep 
hear  my  voice,  but  they  know  not  the  voice  of  strangers." 
For  this  cause  the  gospel  was  bequeathed  to  us,  that  the 
pontiffs  might  utter  the  voice  of  Christ ;  but  they  utter  their 
own  voice,  and  are  determined  to  be  heard.  The  Apostle  also 
says  of  himself  that  he  was  not  sent  to  baptize,  but  to  preach 
the  gospel ;  and  thus  no  man  is  bound  to  receive  the  traditions 
of  the  pontiff,  or  to  listen  to  him,  except  when  he  teaches  the 
gospel  and  Christ ;  and  he  himself  ought  to  teach  nothing  but 
the  freest  faith.  Since,  however,  Christ  says  :  "  he  who  hears 
you  hears  me,"  why  does  not  the  Pope  also  hear  others  ?  Christ 
did  not  say  to  Peter  alone :  "  he  who  hears  thee."  Lastly, 
where  there  is  true  4aith,  there  must  also  of  necessity  be  the 
word  of  faith.     Why  then  does  not  the  unbelieving  Pope  listen 

o 


196  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

—     to  his  believing  servant  who  has  the  word  of  faith  ?     Blindness, 
blindness  reigns  among  the  pontiffs. 

Others  however,  far  more  shamelessly,  arrogate  to  the  Pope 
the  power  of  making  laws  ;  arguing  from  the  words  :  "  Whatso- 
ever thou  shalt  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven  ;  and 
whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven." 
(Matt.  xvi.  19.)  Christ  is  speaking  there  of  the  binding  and 
loosing  of  sins,  not  of  bringing  the  whole  Church  into  bondage 
!  and  making  laws  to  oppress  it.  Thus  the  papal  tyranny  acts 
in  all  things  on  its  own  false  maxims ;  while  it  forcibly  wrests 
and  perverts  the  words  of  God.  |  I  admit  indeed  that  Christians 
must  endure  this  accursed  tyranny,  as  they  would  any  other 
violence  inflicted  on  them  by  the  world,  according  to  the 
saying  of  Christ :  "  Whosoever  shall  smite  thee  on  thy  right 
cheek,  turn  to  him  the  other  also."  (Matt.  v.  39.)  But  I 
'complain  of  this,  that  wicked  pontiffs  boast  that  they  have  a 
rightful  power  to  act  thus,  and  pretend  that  in  this  Babylon 
of  theirs  they  are  providing  for  the  interests  of  Christendom  ; 
an  idea  which  they  have  persuaded  all  men  to  adopt.  If  they 
did  these  things  in  conscious  and  avowed  impiety  and  tyranny, 
or  if  it  were  simple  violence  that  we  endured,  we  might  mean- 
while quietly  reckon  up  the  advantages  thus  afforded  us  for  the 
mortification  of  this  life  and  the  fulfilment  of  baptism,  and 
should  retain  the  full  right  of  glorying  in  conscience  at  the 
wrong  done  us.  As  it  is,  they  desire  so  to  ensnare  our  con- 
sciences in  the  matter  of  liberty  that  we  should  believe  all  that 
they  do  to  be  well  done,  and  should  think  it  unlawful  to  blame 

A      or  complain  of  their  iniquitous  actions.     Being  wolves,  they 
v  wish  to  appear  shepherds  ;  being  antichrists,  they  wish  to  be 
honoured  like  Christ. 

^  i  I  cry  aloud  on  behalf  of  liberty  and  conscience,  and  I 
/  proclaim  with  confidence  that  no  kind  of  law  can  with  any 
[  justice  be  imposed  on  Christians,  whether  by  men  or  by 
I  angels,  except  so  far  as  they  themselves  will ;  for  we  are  free 
from  all.  If  such  laws  are  imposed  on  us,  we  ought  so  to 
endure  them  as  still  to  preserve  the  consciousness  of  our 
liberty.  We  ought  to  know  and  stedfastly  to  protest  that  a 
wrong  is  being  done  to  that  liberty,  though  we  may  bear  and 
even  glory  in  that  wrong  ;  taking  care  neither  to  justify  the 
tyrant  nor  to  murmur  against  the  tyranny.     "  Who  is  he  that 


\ 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  197 

will  barm  you,  if  ye  be  followers  of  tbat  wbicb  is  good  ? " 
(1  Peter  iii.  13.)  All  tbings  work  together  for  good  to  the 
elect  of  God.  Since,  bowever,  tbere  are  but  few  wbo  under- 
stand tbe  glory  of  baptism  and  tbe  bappiness  of  Christian 
liberty,  or  wbo  can  understand  tbem  for  tbe  tyranny  of  tbe 
Pope — I  for  my  part  will  set  free  my  own  mind  and  deliver 
my  conscience,  by  declaring  aloud  to^Jjbe  Pope  and  to  all 
papists,  tbat,  unless  they  shall  throw  a»de  all  their  laws  and 
traditions,  and  restore  liberty  to  the  cjjurches  of  Christ,  and 
cause  that  liberty  to  be  taught,  they  aBguilty  of  the  death  of 
all  the  souls  which  are  perishing  in  thMwretched  bondage,  and 
that  the  papacy  is  in  truth  nothing  Be  than  the  kingdom  of 
Babylon  and  of  very  Antichrist.  FJB  who  is  tbe  man  of  sin 
and  tbe  son  of  perdition,  but  be  whofpy  his  teaching  and  bis 
ordinances  increases  tbe  sin  and  perdition  of  souls  in  the 
Church ;  while  he  yet  sits  in  tbe  Church  as  if  he  were  God  ? 
All  these  conditions  have  now  for  many  ages  been  fulfilled  by 
tbe  papal  tyranny.  It  has  extinguished  faith,  darkened  the 
sacraments,  crushed  the  gospel  ;  while  it  has  enjoined  and 
multiplied  without  end  its  own  laws,  which  are  not  only  wicked 
and  sacrilegious,  but  also  most  unlearned  and  barbarous. 

Behold  then  the  wretchedness  of  our  bondage.  "  How  doth 
the  city  sit  solitary,  tbat  was  full  of  people  !  How  is  she 
become  as  a  widow !  She  that  was  great  among  the  nations,, 
and  princess  among  the  provinces,  how  is  she  become  tributary  ! 
Among  all  her  lovers  she  bath  none  to  comfort  her ;  all  her 
friends  have  dealt  treacherously  with  her."  (Lam.  i.  1,  2.) 
Tbere  are  at  this  day  so  many  ordinances,  so  many  rites,  so 
many  parties,  so  many  professions,  so  many  works  to  occupy 
the  minds  of  Christians,  tbat  they  forget  their  baptism.  For 
this  multitude  of  locusts,  caterpillars,  and  cankerworms,  no  man 
is  able  to  remember  tbat  be  was  baptized,  or  what  it  was  that 
he  obtained  in  baptism.  We  ought  to  have  been  like  babes 
when  they  are  baptized,  wbo,  being  preoccupied  by  no  zeal 
and  by  no  works,  are  free  for  all  tbings,  at  rest  and  safe  in  tbe 
glory  of  their  baptism  alone.  We  also  ourselves  are  babes  in 
Christ,  unremittingly  baptized. 

In  opposition  to  what  I  have  said,  an  argument  will  perhaps 
be  drawn  from  tbe  baptism  of  infants,  who  cannot  receive  the 
promise  of  God,  or  have  faith  in  their  baptism;  and  it  will  be 

o  2 


198  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

said  that  therefore  either  faith  is  not  requisite,  or  infants  are 
baptized  in  vain.  To  this  I  reply,  what  all  men  say,  that ' 
infants  are  aided  by  the  faith  of  others,  namely,  that  of  those 
who  bring  them  to  baptism.  For  as  the  word  of  God,  when  it 
is  preached,  is  powerful  enough  to  change  the  heart  of  a 
wicked  man,  which  is  not  less  devoid  of  sense  and  feeling  than 
any  infant,  so  through  the  prayers  of  the  Church  which  brings 
the  child  in  faith,  to  which  prayers  all  things  are  possible,  the 
infant  is  changed,  cleansed,  and  renewed  by  faith  infused  into 
it.  Nor  should  I  doubt  that  even  a  wicked  adult,  if  the  Church 
were  to  bring  him  forward  and  pray  for  him,  might  undergo 
a  change  in  any  of  the  sacraments ;  just  as  we  read  in  the 
gospel  that  the  paralytic  man  was  healed  by  the  faith  of  others. 
In  this  sense  too  I  should  readily  admit  that  the  sacraments 
of  the  new  law  are  effectual  for  the  bestowal  of  grace,  not 
only  on  those  who  do  not  place  any  obstacle  in  the  way,  but 
on  the  most  obstinate  of  those  who  do.  What  difficulty  cannot 
the  faith  of  the  Church  and  the  prayer  of  faith  remove,  when 
Stephen  is  believed  to  have  converted  the  Aj>ostle  Paul  by  this 
power  ?  But  in  these  cases  the  sacraments  do  what  they  do, 
not  by  their  own  virtue,  but  by  that  of  faith ;  without  which, 
as  I  have  said,  they  have  no  effect  at  all. 

A  question  has  been  raised  whether  a  child  yet  unborn,  but 
of  which  only  a  hand  or  a  foot  appears,  can  be  baptized.  On 
this  point  I  would  give  no  hasty  judgment,  and  I  confess  my 
own  ignorance.  Nor  do  I  know  whether  the  reason  on  which 
they  base  their  opinion  is  sufficient,  namely,  that  the  whole  soul 
exists  in  every  part  of  the  body ;  for  it  is  not  the  soul,  but  the 
body,  which  is  outwardly  baptized.  On  the  other  hand,  I 
cannot  pronounce  that,  as  some  assert,  he  who  has  not  yet 
been  born,  cannot  be  born  again ;  though  it  is  a  very  strong 
argument.  I  leave  this  question  to  the  decision  of  the  Spirit, 
and  meanwhile  would  have  every  man  to  be  fully  persuaded 
in  his  own  mind. 

I  will  add  one  thing,  of  which  I  wish  I  could  persuade  every 
one ;  that  is,  that  all  vows,  whether  those  of  religious  orders, 
or  of  pilgrimages,  or  of  works  of  any  kind,  should  be  entirely 
done  away  with,  or  at  least  avoided,  and  that  we  should  remain 
in  the  liberty  of  baptism,  full  as  it  is  of  religious  observances 
and  of  good  works.     It  is  impossible  to  express  to  what  an 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  199 

extent  this  far  too  much  extolled  belief  in  vows  detracts  from 
baptism,  and  obscures  the  knowledge  of  Christian  liberty  ;  not 
to  mention  the  unspeakable  and  infinite  danger  to  souls  which 
is  daily  increased  by  this  immoderate  passion  for  vows,  and 
thoughtless  rashness  in  making  them.  Oh  ye  most  wicked 
Bishops  and  most  unhappy  pastors,  who  slumber  at  your 
ease  and  disport  yourselves  with  your  own  desires,  while 
ye  have  no  pity  for  the  grievous  and  perilous  affliction  of 
Joseph  ! 

It  would  be  well  either  to  do  away  by  a  general  edict  with 
all  vows,  especially  those  which  are  perpetual,  and  to  recall  all 
men  to  their  baptismal  vows,  or  at  least  to  admonish  all  to 
take  no  vow  rashly ;  and  not  only  to  invite  no  vows,  but  to 
place  delays  and  difficulties  in  the  way  of  their  being  taken. 
We  make  an  ample  vow  at  baptism,  a  greater  _one  than  we  can 
fulfil ;  ancL  we  shall  have  enough  to  do  if  we  give  all  our 
efforts  to  this  alone.  But  now  we  compass  sea  and  land  to 
make  many  proselytes ;  we  fill  the  world  with  priests,  monks, 
and  nuns ;  and  we  imprison  all  these  in  perpetual  vows.  We 
shall  find  those  who  will  argue  on  this  point,  and  lay  it  down 
that  works  performed  under  the  sanction  of  a  vow  are  better 
than  those  performed  independently  of  vows,  and  will  be 
preferred  in  heaven  and  meet  with  far  higher  reward.  Blind 
and  impious  Pharisees !  who  measure  righteousness  and  holi- 
ness by  the  greatness  and  number  of  works,  or  by  some 
other  quality  in  them ;  while  in  God's  sight  they  are 
measured  by  faith  alone ;  since  in  His  sight  there  is  no 
difference  between  works,  except  so  far  as  there  is  a  difference 
in  faith. 

By  this  inflated  talk    wicked  men  create  a  great  opinion 
of    their    own   inventions,    and    puff    up    human   works,    in 
order    to  allure  the    senseless  multitude,  who   are  easily  led 
by  a  specious    show   of  works ;  to   the   great  ruin   of  faith, 
forgetfulness  of  baptism,  and  injury  to  Christian  liberty.     As  / 
a  vow  is  a  sort  of  law  and  requires  a  work,  it  follows  that,  as 
vows  are  multiplied,  so  laws  and  works  are  multiplied ;  and  by  ( 
the  multiplication  of  these,  faith  is  extinguished,  and  the  liberty  J 
of  baptism  is  brought  into  bondage.     Not  content  with  these  im- 
pious allurements,  others  go  further,  and  assert  that  entrance  into    i 
a  religious  order  is  like  a  new  baptism,  which  may  be  successively   / 


200  LUTHER'S    PRIMARY   WORKS 

renewed,  as  often  as  the  purpose  of  a  religious  life  is  renewed. 
Thus  these  devotees  attribute  to  themselves  alone  righteous- 
ness, salvation,  and  glory,  and  leave  to  the  baptized  absolutely 
no  room  for  comparison  with  them.  The  Eoman  pontiff,  that 
fountain  and  author  of  all  superstitions,  confirms,  approves, 
and  embellishes  these  ideas  by  grandly  worded  bulls  and 
indulgences ;  while  no  one  thinks  baptism  worthy  even  of 
mention.  By  these  showy  displays  they  drive  the  easily 
•^  j  led  people  of  Christ  into  whatever  whirlpools  of  error  they 
will ;  so  that,  unthankful  for  their  baptism,  they  imagine 
ithat  they  can  do  better  by  their  works  than  others  by  their 
■faith. 

Wherefore  God  also,  who  is  froward  with  the  froward,  resolving 
to  avenge  Himself  on  the  pride  and  unthankfulness  of  these 
>:  devotees,  causes  them  either  to  fail  in  keeping  their  vows,  or  to 
;  keep  them  with  great  labour  and  to  continue  immersed  in 
them,  never  becoming  acquainted  with  the  grace  of  faith  and 
of  baptism.  As  their  spirit  is  not  right  with  God,  He  permits 
them  to  continue  to  the  end  in  their  hypocrisy,  and  to  become 
at  length  a  laughing-stock  to  the  whole  world,  always  follow- 
ing after  righteousness,  and  never  attaining  to  it;  so  that 
they  fulfil  that  saying:  "Their  land  also  is  full  of  idols." 
(Is.  ii.  8.) 

I  should  certainly  not  forbid  or  object  to  any  vow  which  a 
man  may  make  of  his  own  private  choice.  I  do  not  wish 
altogether   to  condemn   or  depreciate   vows;  but   my   advice 

— -  would  be  altogether  against  the  public  establishment  or 
confirmation  of  any  such  mode  of  life.  It  is  enough  that 
every  man  should  be  at  liberty  to  make  private  vows  at  his 
own  peril ;  but  that  a  public  system  of  living  under  the 
constraint  of  vows  should  be  inculcated,  I  consider  to  be  a 
thing  pernicious  to  the  Church  and  to  all  simple  souls.  In  the 
first  place,  it  is  not  a  little  repugnant  to  the  Christian  life, 
inasmuch  as  a  vow  is  a  kind  of  ceremonial  law,  and  a  matter  of 
human  tradition  or  invention ;  from  all  which  the  Church 
has  been  set  free  by  baptism,  since  the  Christian  is  bound  by 

\      j  no  law,  except  that  of  God.     Moreover  there  is  no  example  of 

—  :  it  in  the  Scriptures,  especially  of  the  vow  of  perpetual  chastity, 

obedience,  and  poverty.     Now  a  vow  of  which   we  have  no 

example  in  the  Scriptures  is  a  perilous  one,  which  ought  to  be 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  201 

urged  upon  no  man,  much  less  be  established  as  a  common  and 
public  mode  of  life ;  even  if  every  individual  must  be  allowed 
to  venture  upon  it  at  his  own  peril,  if  he  will.  There  are  some 
works  which  are  wrought  by  the  Spirit  in  but  few,  and  these 
ought  by  no  means  to  be  brought  forward  as  an  example,  or  as 
a  manner  of  life. 

I  greatly  fear,  however,  that  these  systems  of  living  under 
vows  in  the  religious,  are  of  the  number  of  those  things 
of  which  the  Apostle  foretold :  "  Speaking  lies  in  hypo- 
crisy ;  forbidding  to  marry,  and  commanding  to  abstain 
from  meats,  which  God  hath  created  to  be  received  with 
thanksgiving."  (1  Tim.  iv.  2,  3.)  Let  no  one  cite  against  me 
the  example  of  St.  Bernard,  St.  Francis,  St.  Dominic,  and  such 
like  authors  or  supporters  of  religious  orders.  God  is  terrible 
and  wonderful  in  His  dealings  with  the  children  of  men.  He 
could  preserve  Daniel,  Ananias,  Azarias,  and  Misael  holy,  even 
as  ministers  of  the  kingdom  of  Babylon,  that  is,  in  the  very 
midst  of  wickedness  ;  He  may  also  have  sanctified  the  men  of 
whom  I  have  spoken  in  their  perilous  mode  of  life,  and  have 
guided  them  by  the  special  working  of  His  Spirit ;  while 
yet  He  would  not  have  this  made  an  example  for  other  men.  It 
is  certain  that  not  one  of  these  men  was  saved  by  his  vows  or 
his  religious  order,  but  by  faith  alone,  by  which  all  men  are 
saved,  but  to  which  these  showy  servitudes  of  vows  are  espe- 
cially hostile. 

In  this  matter  let  every  man  be  fully  persuaded  in  his  own 
mind.  I  shall  carry  out  my  undertaking,  and  speak  on  behalf 
of  the  liberty  of  the  Church  and  of  the  glory  of  baptism ;  and 
I  shall  state  for  the  general  benefit  what  I  have  learnt  under 
the  teaching  of  the  Spirit.  And  first  I  counsel  those  who  are 
in  high  places  in  the  Church  to  do  away  with  all  those  vows 
and  the  practice  of  living  under  vows,  or,  at  the  least,  not  to 
approve  or  extol  them.  If  they  will  not  do  this,  then  I 
earnestly  advise  all  who  desire  to  make  their  salvation  the 
safer — particularly  growing  youths  and  young  men — to  keep 
aloof  from  all  vows,  especially  from  such  as  are  extensive  and 
life-long.  I  give  this  advice  in  the  first  place  because  this 
mode  of  life,  as  I  have  already  said,  has  no  evidence  or 
example  in  the  Scriptures,  but  rests  only  on  the  bulls  of  the 
pontiffs,  who  are  but  men ;  and  secondly,  because  it  tends  to 


202  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

lead  men  into  hypocrisy  through  its  singularity  and  showy 

/  appearance,  whence  arise  pride  and  contempt  of  the  ordinary 

Christian  life.     If  there  were,  no  other  cause  for  doing  away 

with  these  vows,  this  one  by  itself  would  have  weight  enough, 

\   that  by  them  faith  and  baptism  are  depreciated,  and  works  are 

V  magnified.     Now  these  cannot  be  magnified  without  ruinous 

consequences,  for   among  many  thousands  there   is  scarcely 

one  who  does  not  look  more  to  his  works  as  a  member  of  a 

.     religious  order,  than  to  faith  ;  and  under  this  delusion  they 

claim  superiority  over  each  other  as  being  stricter  or  laxer,  as 

they  call  it. 

Hence  I  advise  no  man,  yea,  I  dissuade  every  man  from 
entering  into  the  priesthood  or  any  religious  order,  unless 
he  be  so  fortified  with  knowledge  as  to  understand  that,  how-  ) 
ever  sacred  and  lofty  may  be  the  works  of  priests  or  of  the 
religious  orders,  they  differ  not  at  all  in  the  sight  of  God  from 
the  works  of  a  husbandman  labouring  in  his  field,  or  of  a 
woman  attending  to  her  household  affairs,  but  that  in  His  eyes 
all  things  are  measured  by  faith  alone ;  as  it  is  written  :  "In 
all  thy  work  believe  with  the  faith  of  thy  soul,  for  this  is  the 
keeping  of  the  commandments  of  God."  (Eccles.  xxxii.  23.) 
Nay,  it  very  often  happens  that  the  common  work  of  a 
servant  or  a  handmaiden  is  more  acceptable  to  God  than  all  the 
fastings  and  works  of  a  monk  or  a  priest,  when  they  are  done 
without  faith.  Since,  then,  it  is  likely  that  at  the  present  day 
vows  only  tend  to  increase  men's  pride  and  presumption  in 
their  own  works,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  there  is  nowhere  less  of 
.  faith  and  of  the  Church  than  in  priests,  monks,  and  bishops ; 
'  and  that  these  very  men  are  really  Gentiles  and  hypocrites, 
who  consider  themselves  to  be  the  Church,  or  the  very  heart  of 
the  Church,  spiritual  persons,  and  rulers  of  the  Church,  when 
they  are  very  far  indeed  from  being  so.  These  are  really  the 
people  of  the  captivity,  among  whom  all  the  free  gifts  bestowed 
in  baptism  have  been  brought  into  bondage  ;  while  the  poor 
and  slender  remnant  of  the- people  of  the  land  appear  vile  in 
their  eyes. 

From  this  we  perceive  two  conspicuous  errors  on  the  part  of 

i       the  Roman  Pontiff.     The  first  is,  that  he  gives  dispensations  in 

the  matter  of  vows,  and  does  this  as  if  he  alone   possessed 

authority  beyond  all  other  Christians.     So  far  does  the  rashness 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  203 

and  audacity-  Of  wicked  men  extend.  If  a  vow  can  be  dis- 
pensed with,  any  brother  can  dispense  for  his  neighbour,  or 
even  for  himself.  If  he  cannot  grant  such  dispensations, 
neither  has  the  Pope  any  right  to  do  so.  "Whence  has  he 
this  authority  ?  From  the  keys  ?  They  are  common  to  all, 
and  only  have  power  over  sins.  But  since  the  Pope  himself 
confesses  that  vows  have  a  divine  right,  why  does  he  cheat 
and  ruin  wretched  souls  by  giving  dispensations  in  a  matter 
of  divine  right,  which  admits  of  no  dispensation  ?  He  prates 
of  the  redemption  of  vows,  and  declares  that  he  has  power  to 
change  vows,  just  as  under  the  law  of  old  the  first-born  of  an 
ass  was  exchanged  for  a  lamb  ;  as  if  a  vow,  which  requires  to 
be  fulfilled  everywhere  and  constantly,  were  the  same  thing 
with  the  first-born  of  an  ass ;  or  as  if,  because  God  in  His  own 
law  ordered  an  ass  to  be  exchanged  for  a  lamb,  therefore  the 
Pope,  who  is  but  a  man,  had  the  same  power  with  respect  to 
a  law  which  is  not  his,  but  God's.  It  was  not  a  pope  who 
made  this  decretal,  but  an  ass  which  had  been  exchanged  for  a 
pope,  so  utterly  mad  and  impious  was  he. 

The  Pope  commits  a  second  great  error  again,  in  decreeing  \ 
that  the  bond  of  marriage  may  be  broken  through,  if  one  of  the 
parties,  even  against  the  will  of  the  other,  desires  to  enter  a 
monastery,  provided  the  marriage  has  not  yet  been  consum- 
mated. What  devil  inspires  this  portentous  decree  of  the  Pope  ? 
God  commands  men  to  keep  faith  and  observe  truth  towards 
one  another,  and  that  every  man  should  bring  gifts  out  of  his 
own  substance ;  for  He  hates  robbery  for  burnt-offering,  as  He 
declares  by  the  mouth  of  Isaiah.  Now  husband  and  wife  owe 
fidelity  to  each  other  by  their  compact,  a  fidelity  which  can  be 
dissolved  by  no  law.  Neither  can  say  :  "  I  belong  to  myself," 
or  can  do  without  robbery  whatever  is  done  against  the  will  of 
the  other.  Else  why  not  also  have  a  rule  that  a  man  who  is 
in  debt,  if  he  enter  into  a  religious  order,  shall  be  freed  from 
his  debts,  and  be  at  liberty  to  deny  his  bond  ?  Ye  blind !  ye 
blind  !  Which  is  greater — good  faith,  which  is  a  command  of 
God,  or  a  vow,  invented  and  chosen  by  men?  Art  thou  a 
shepherd  of  souls,  0  Pope  ?  Are  ye  doctors  of  sacred  theology, 
who  teach  in  this  way  ?  Why  do  ye  teach  thus  ?  Because  ye 
extol  a  vow  as  being  a  better  work  than  marriage ;  but  it  is 
not  faith,  which  itself  alone  can  magnify    anything,   that  ye 


204  LUTHER'S    PRIMARY   WORKS 

magnify,  but  works,  which  in  the  sight  of  God  are  nothing,  or 
at  least  all  equal  as  concerns  their  merit. 

I  cannot  doubt  then  that  from  such  vows  as  it.  is  right  to 
make,  neither  men  nor  angels  can  give  a  dispensation.  But  I 
have  not  been  able  to  convince  myself  that  all  the  vows  made 
in  these  days  fall  under  the  head  of  rightful  vows  ;  such  as 
that  ridiculous  piece  of  folly,  when  parents  devote  their  child 
yet  unborn,  or  an  infant,  to  a  life  of  religion  or  to  perpetual 
chastity.  Nay  it  is  certain  that  this  is  no  rightful  vow ;  it 
appears  to  be  a  mockery  of  God,  since  the  parents  vow  what 
it  is  in  no  wise  in  their  power  to  perform.  I  come  now  to 
members  of  the  religious  orders.  The  more  I  think  of  their 
three  vows,  the  less  I  understand  them,  and  the  more  I  wonder 
how  the  exaction  of  such  vows  has  grown  upon  us.  Still  less 
do  I  understand  at  what  period  of  life  such  vows  can  be  taken, 
so  as  to  be  legitimate  and  valid.  In  this  all  are  agreed,  that 
such  vows,  taken  before  the  age  of  puberty,  are  not  valid. 
And  yet  in  this  matter  they  deceive  a  great  number  of  youths, 
who  know  as  little  of  their  own  age  as  of  what  it  is  they  are 
vowing.  The  age  of  puberty  is  not  looked  to  when  the  vows 
are  taken,  but  consent  is  supposed  to  follow  afterwards,  and  the 
professed  are  held  in  bondage  and  devoured  by  dreadful  scruples 
of  conscience  ;  as  if  a  vow  in  itself  void  could  become  valid  by 
the  progress  of  time. 

To  me  it  seems  folly  that  any  limit  to  a  legitimate  vow 
should  be  laid  down  by  others,  who  cannot  lay  one  down  in 
their  own  case.  Nor  do  I  see  why  a  vow  made  in  a  man's 
eighteenth  year  should  be  valid,  but  not  if  made  in  his  tenth  or 
twelfth  year.  It  is  not  enough  to  say  that  in  his  eighteenth 
year  a  man  feels  the  impulses  of  the  flesh.  What  if  he 
scarcely  feels  them  in  his  twentieth  or  thirtieth  year;  or 
feels  them  more  strongly  in  his  thirtieth  year  than  in  his 
twentieth  ?  Why,  again,  is  not  a  similar  limitation  placed  on 
the  vows  of  poverty  and  obedience  ?  What  time  shall  we  assign 
for  a  man  to  feel  himself  avaricious  or  proud,  when  even  the 
most  spiritually  minded  men  have  a  difficulty  in  detecting 
these  affections  in  themselves  ?  There  will  never  be  any  sure 
and  legitimate  vow,  until  we  shall  have  become  thoroughly 
spiritual,  and  so  have  no  need  of  vows.  We  see  then  that  vows 
are   most    uncertain    and    perilous    things.     It   would    be   a 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  205 

salutary  course  to  leave  this  lofty  manner  of  living  under  vows 
free  to  the  spirit  alone,  as  it  was  of  old,  and  by  no  means 
to  convert  it  into  a  perpetual  mode  of  life.  We  have  now, 
however,  said  enough  on  the  subject  of  baptism  and  liberty. 
The  time  will  perhaps  come  for  treating  [more  fully  of  vows, 
and  in  truth  they  greatly  need  to  be  treated  of. 


CONCEBNING  THE  SACEAMENT  OF  PENANCE 

In  this  third  part  I  shall  speak  of  the  sacrament  of  penance. 
By  the  tracts  and  disputations  which  I  have  published  on  this 
subject  I  have  given  offence  to  very  many,  and  have  amply 
expressed  my  own  opinions.  I  must  now  briefly  repeat  these 
statements,  in  order  to  unveil  the  tyranny  which  attacks  us  on 
this  point  as  unsparingly  as  in  the  sacrament  of  the  bread.  In 
!  these  two  sacraments  gain  and  lucre  find  a  place,  and  therefore  , 
the  avarice  of  the  shepherds  has  raged  to  an  incredible  extent 
against  the  sheep  of  Christ;  while  even  baptism,  as  we  have 
seen  in  speaking  of  vows,  has  been  sadly  obscured  among  adults, 
that  the  purposes  of  avarice  might  be  served. 

The  first  and  capital  evil  connected  with  this  sacrament 
is,  that  they  have  totally  done  away  with  the  sacrament 
itself,  leaving  not  even  a  vestige  of  it.  Whereas  this,  like 
the  other  two  sacraments,  consists  of  the  word  of  the  divine 
promise  on  one  side  and  of  our  faith  on  the  other,  they  have  ^ 
overthrown  both  of  these.  They  have  adapted  to  the  purposes 
of  their  own  tyranny  Christ's  word  of  promise,  when  He  says : 
"  Whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in 
heaven  :  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth  shall  be 
loosed  in  heaven  "  (Matt.  xvi.  19);  and  :  "  Whatsoever  ye  shall 
bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven  :  and  whatsoever  ye 
shall  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven"  (Matt,  xviii.  18) ; 
and  again :  "  Whose  soever  sins  ye  remit,  they  are  remitted 
unto  them  ;  and  whose  soever  sins  ye  retain,  they  are  retained." 
(John  xx.  23.)  These  words  are  meant  to  call  forth  the  faith 
of  penitents,  that  they  may  seek  and  obtain  remission  of  their  . 
sins.  But  these  men,  in  all  their  books,  writings,  and  dis- 
courses, have  not  made  it  their  object  to  explain  to  Christians 


206  LUTHEE'S   PRIMARY  WORKS 

the  promise  conveyed  in  these  words,  and  to  show  them  what 
they  ought  to  believe,  and  how  much  consolation  they  might 
have,  but  to  establish  in  the  utmost  length,  "breadth  and  depth 
their  own  powerful  and  violent  tyranny.  At  last  some  have 
even  begun  to  give  orders  to  the  angels  in  heaven,  and  to  boast, 
with  an  incredible  frenzy  of  impiety,  that  they  have  received 
the  right  to  rule  in  heaven  and  on  earth,  and  have  the  power 
of  binding  even  in  heaven.  Thus  they  say  not  a  word  about 
the  saving  faith  of  the  people,  but  talk  largely  of  the  tyranni- 
cal power  of  the  pontiffs ;  whereas  Christ's  words  do  not  deal 
,  at  all  with  power,  but  entirely  with  faith. 

It  was  not  principalities,  powers,  and  dominions  that  Christ 
instituted  in  His  Church,  but  a  ministry,  as  we  learn  from  the 
words  of  the  Apostle  :  "  Let  a  man  so  account  of  us,  as  of  the 
ministers  of  Christ,  and  stewards  of  the  mysteries  of  God." 
(1  Cor.  iv.  1.)  When  Christ  said  :  "  Whosoever  believeth  and 
is  baptized  shall  be  saved,"  He  meant  to  call  forth  faith  on  the 
part  of  those  seeking  baptism ;  so  that,  on  the  strength  of  this 
word  of  promise,  a  man  might  be  sure  that,  if  he  believed  and 
were  baptized,  he  would  obtain  salvation.  No  sort  of  power  is 
here  bestowed  on  His  servants,  but  only  the  ministry  of  baptism 
is  committed  to  them.  In  the  same  way,  when  Christ  says : 
"  Whatsoever  ye  shall  bind,"  etc.,  He  means  to  call  forth  the 
faith  of  the  penitent,  so  that,  on  the  strength  of  this  word  of 
promise,  he  may  be  sure  that,  if  he  believes  and  is  absolved, 
he  will  be  truly  absolved  in  heaven.  Evidently  nothing  is  said 
here  of  power,  but  it  is  the  ministry  of  absolution  which  is 
spoken  of.  It  is  strange  enough  that  these  blind  and  arrogant 
men  have  not  arrogated  to  themselves  some  tyrannical  power 
from  the  terms  of  the  baptismal  promise.  If  not,  why  have 
they  presumed  to  do  so  from  the  promise  connected  with 
penitence  ?  In  both  cases  there  is  an  equal  ministry,  a  like 
promise,  and  the  same  character  in  the  sacrament ;  and  it  can- 
not be  denied  that,  if  we  do  not  owe  baptism  to  Peter  alone,  it 
is  a  piece  of  impious  tyranny  to  claim  the  power  of  the  keys 
for  the  Pope  alone. 

Thus  also  when  Christ  says :  "  Take,  eat,  this  is  my  body 
which  is  given  for  you  ;  this  is  the  cup  in  my  blood,"  He  means  - 
to  call  forth  faith  in  those  who  eat,  that  their  conscience  may  be 
strengthened  by  faith  in  these  words,  and  that  they  may  feel 


/ 


THE   BABYLOXISH   CAPTIVITY  207 

sure  that,  when  they  eat,  they  receive  remission  of  sins.  There 
is  nothing  here  which  speaks  of  power,  but  only  of  a  ministry. 
The  promise  of  Baptism  has  remained  with  us,  at  least  in  the 
case  of  infants,  but  the  promise  of  the  Bread  and  the  Cup  has 
been  destroyed,  or  brought  into  servitude  to  avarice,  and  faith 
has  been  turned  into  a  work  and  a  testament  into  a  sacrifice. 
Thus  also  the  promise  of  Penance  has  been  perverted  into 
a  most  violent  tyranny,  and  into  the  establishment  of  a  do- 

j      minion  that  is  more  than  temporal. 

\  /  Not  content  with  this,  our  Babylon  has  so  utterly  done  away 
with  faith  as  to  declare  with  shameless  front  that  it  is  not 
necessary  in  this  sacrament ;  nay,  in  her  antichristian  wicked- 
ness, she  pronounces  it  a  heresy  to  assert  the  necessity  of 
faith.  What  more  is  there  that  that  tyranny  could  do,  and  has 
not  done  ?  Verily  "  by  the  rivers  of  Babylon,  there  we  sat 
down  ;  yea,  we  wept,  when  we  remembered  Zion.  We  hanged 
our  harps  upon  the  willows  in  the  midst  thereof."  (Psalm 
cxxxvii.  1,  2.)  May  the  Lord  curse  the  barren  willows  of  those 
rivers !  Amen.  The  promise  and  faith  having  been  blotted 
out  and  overthrown,  let  us  see  what  they  have  substituted  for 
them.  They  have  divided  penitence  into  three  parts,  con- 
trition, confession,  and  satisfaction ;  but  in  doing  this  they 
have  taken  away  all  that  was  good  in  each  of  these,  and  have 
set  up  in  each  their  own  tyranny  and  caprice. 

^7/  /  In  the  first  place,  they  have  so  taught  contrition  as  to  make 
it  prior  to  faith  in  the  promise,  and  far  better  as  not  being  a 
work  of  faith,  but  a  merit ;  nay,  they  make  no  mention  of 
faith.  They  stick  fast  in  works  and  in  examples  taken  from 
the  Scriptures,  where  we  read  of  many  who  obtained  pardon 
through  humility  and  contrition  of  heart,  but  they  never  think 
of  the  faith  which  wrought  this  contrition  and  sorrow  of 
heart ;  as  it  is  written  concerning  the  Ninevites  :  "  The  people 
of  Nineveh  believed  God,  and  proclaimed  a  fast,  and  put  on 
sackcloth."  (Jonah  iii.  5.)  These  men,  worse  and  more  auda-  ' 
cious  than  the  Ninevites,  have  invented  a  certain  "attrition," 
which,  by  the  virtue  of  the  keys  (of  which  they  are  ignorant), 
may  become  contrition ;  and  this  they  bestow  on  the  wicked 
and  unbelieving,  and  thus  do  away  entirely  with  contrition. 
0  unendurable  wrath  of  God,  that  such  things  should  be  taught 
in  the  Church  of  Christ !     So  it  is  that,  having  got  rid  of  faith 


iJ 


208  LUTHER'S    PRIMARY   WORKS 

and  its  work,  we  walk  heedlessly  in  the  doctrines  and  opinions 
of  men,  or  ratherJperish  in  them.  A  contrite  heart  is  a  great 
matter  indeed,  anil  can  only  proceed  from  an  earnest  faith  in 
the  Divine  promises  and  threats — a  faith  which,  contemplating 
the  nnshakeable  truth  of  God,  makes  the  conscience  to  tremble, 
terrifies  and  bruises  it,  and,  when  it  is  thus  contrite,  raises  it 
up  again,  consoles,  and  preserves  it.  Thus,  the  truth  of  the 
threatening  is  the  cause  of  contrition,  and  the  truth  of  the 
promise  is  the  cause' of  consolation,  when  they  are  believed;  and 
by  this  faith  a  man  merits  remission  of  sins.  Therefore  faith 
above  all  things  ought  to  be  taught  and  called  forth;  when 
faith  is  produced,  contrition  and  consolation  will  follow  of  their 
own  accord  by  an  inevitable  consequence. 

Hence,  although  there  is  something  in  the  teaching  of  those 
iwho  assert  that  contrition  is  to  be  brought  about  by  the 
{ collection — as  they  call  it — and  contemplation  of  our  own  sins, 
still  theirs  is  a  perilous  and  perverse  doctrine,  because  they  do 
not  first  teach  the  origin  and  cause  of  contrition,  namely,  the 
unshakeable  truth  of  the  Divine  threatenings  and  promises,  in 
order  to  call  forth  faith  ;  that  so  men  might  understand  that 
they  ought  to  look  with  much  more  earnest  attention  to  the 
truth  of  God,  by  which  to  be  humbled  and  raised  up  again, 
than  to  the  multitude  of  their  own  sins,  which,  if  they  be 
looked  at  apart  from  the  truth  of  God,  are  more  likely  to 
renew  and  increase  the  desire  for  sin,  than  to  produce  con- 
trition. I  say  nothing  of  that  insurmountable  chaos  of  labour 
which  they  impose  upon  us,  namely,  that  we  are  to  frame  a 
contrition  for  all  our  sins,  for  this  is  impossible.  We  can 
know  but  a  small  part  of  our  sins ;  indeed  even  our  good 
works  will  be  found  to  be  sins  ;  as  it  is  written :  "  Enter 
not  into  judgment  with  thy  servant :  for  in  thy  sight  shall 
no  man  living  be  justified."  (Psalm  cxliii.  2.)  It  is  enough 
that  we  sorrow  for  those  sins  which  vex  our  conscience  at 
the  present  moment,  and  which  are  easily  recognised  by  an 
effort  of  our  memory.  He  who  is  thus  disposed  will  with- 
out doubt  be  ready  to  feel  sorrow  and  fear  on  account  of  all 
his  sins,  and  will  feel  sorrow  and  fear  when  in  future  they 
are  revealed  to  him. 

Beware  then  of  trusting  in  thine  own  contrition,  or  attribu- 
[ting  remission  of  sins  to  thy  own  sorrow.     It  is  not  because 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  209 

of  these  that  God  looks  on  thee  with  favour,  but  because  of 
the  faith  with  which  thou  hast  believed  His  threateniugs  and 
promises,  and  which  has  wrought  that  sorrow  in  thee.  There- 
fore whatever  good  there  is  in  penitence  is  due,  not  to  the 
diligence  with  which  we  reckon  up  our  sins,  but  to  the  truth 
of  God  and  to  our  faith.  All  other  things  are  works  and 
fruits  which  follow  of  their  own  accord,  and  which  do  not 
make  a  man  good,  but  are  done  by  a  man  who  has  been 
made  good  by  his  faith  in  the  truth  of  God.  Thus  it  is 
written :  "  Because  he  was  wroth,  there  went  up  a  smoke 
in  his  presence."  (Psalm  xviii.  8.)  The  terror  of  the 
threatening  comes  first,  which  devours  the  wicked ;  but  faith, 
accepting  the  threatening,  sends  forth  contrition  as  a  cloud 
of  smoke. 

Contrition,  though  it  has  been  completely  exposed  to  wicked 
and  pestilent  doctrines,  has  yet  given  less  occasion  to  tyranny 
and  the  love  of  gain.  But  confession  and  satisfaction  have  been 
^  turned  into  the  most  noted  workshops  for  lucre  and  ambition. 
I  To  speak  first  of  confession.  There  is  no  doubt  that  confession 
of  sins  is  necessary,  and'  is  commanded  by  God.  "  They  were 
baptized  of  John  in  Jordan,  confessing  their  sins."  (Matt.  iii.  6.) 
"  If  we  confess  our  sins,  he  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our 
sins.  If  we  say  that  we  have  not  sinned,  we  make  him  a  liar, 
and  his  word  is  not  in  us."  (1  John  i.  9,  10.)  If  the  saints 
must  not  deny  their  sin,  how  much  more  ought  those  who  are 
guilty  of  great  or  public  offences  to  confess  them.  But  the 
most  effective  proof  of  the  institution  of  confession  is  given 
when  Christ  tells  us  that  an  offending  brother  must  be  told  of 
his  fault,  brought  before  the  Church,  accused,  and  finally,  if  he 
neglect  to  hear  the  Church,  excommunicated.  He  "  hears " 
when  he  yields  to  reproof,  and  acknowledges  and  confesses 
his  sin. 

The  secret  confession,  however,  which  is  now  practised, 
though  it  cannot  be  proved  from  Scripture,  is  in  my  opinion 
highly  satisfactory,  and  useful  or  even  necessary.  I  could  not 
wish  it  not  to  exist ;  nay,  I  rejoice  that  it  does  exist  in  the 
Church  of  Christ,  for  it  is  the  one  great  remedy  for  afflicted 
consciences ;  when,  after  laying  open  our  conscience  to  a 
brother,  and  unveiling  all  the  evil  which  lay  hid  there,  we 
receive  from  the  mouth  of  that  brother  the  word  of  consolation 


/ 


210  LUTHER'S    PRIMARY   WORKS 

sent  forth  from  God ;  receiving  which  by  faith  we  find  peace  in 
a  sense  of  the  mercy  of  God,  who  speaks  to  us  through  our 
brother.  What  I  protest  against  is  the  conversion  of  this 
institution  of  confession  into  a  means  of  tyranny  and  extortion 
by  the  bishops.  They  reserve  certain  cases  to  themselves  as 
secret,  and  then  order  them  to  be  revealed  to  confessors  named 
by  themselves,  and  thus  vex  the  consciences  of  men ;  filling  the 
office  of  bishop,  but  utterly  neglecting  the  real  duties  of  a 
bishop,  which  are,  to  preach  the  gospel  and  to  minister  to  the 
poor.  Nay,  these  impious  tyrants  principally  reserve  to  them- 
selves the  cases  which  are  of  less  consequence,  while  they  leave 
the  greater  ones  everywhere  to  the  common  herd  of  priests, 
— cases  such  as  the  ridiculous  inventions  of  the  bull  "  In  Coena 
Domini."  That  their  wicked  perverseness  may  be  yet  more 
manifest,  they  do  not  reserve  those  things  which  are  offences 
against  the  worship  of  God,  against  faith,  and  against  the 
chief  commandments,  but  even  approve  and  teach  them ;  such 
as  those  journey ings  hither  and  thither  on  pilgrimage,  the 
perverted  worship  of  saints,  the  lying  legends  of  saints,  the 
confidence  in  and  practice  of  works  and  ceremonies;  by  all 
which  things  the  faith  of  God  is  extinguished,  and  idolatry  is 
nourished,  as  it  is  at  this  day.  The  pontiffs  we  have  nowadays 
are  such  as  those  whom  Jeroboam  established  at  Dan  and 
Beersheba  as  ministers  of  the  golden  calves — men  who  are 
ignorant  of  the  law  of  God,  of  faith,  and  of  all  that  concerns 
the  feeding  of  the  sheep  of  Christ,  and  who  only  thrust  their 
own  inventions  upon  the  people  by  terror  and  power. 

Although  I  exhort  men  to  endure  the  violence  of  these 
reservers,  even  as  Christ  bids  us  to  endure  all  the  tyrannical 
conduct  of  men,  and  teaches  us  to  obey  such  extortioners ; 
still  I  neither  admit  nor  believe  that  they  have  any  right  of 
reservation.  By  no  jot  or  tittle  can  they  prove  this ;  while  I 
can  prove  the  contrary.  In  the  first  place,  if,  in  speaking  of 
public  offences,  Christ  says  that  we  have  gained  our  brother, 
if  he  hears  us  when  told  of  his  fault,  and  that  he  is  not  to  be 
brought  before  the  Church,  unless  he  has  refused  to  hear  us, 
and  that  offences  may  thus  be  set  right  between  brethren ; 
how  much  more  true  will  it  be  concerning  private  offences,  that 
the  sin  is  taken  away,  when  brother  has  voluntarily  confessed 
it  to  brother,  so  that  he  need  not  bring  it  before  the  Church, 


THE   BABYLONISH    CAPTIVITY  211 

that  is,  before  a  prelate  or  priest,  as  these  men  say  in  their 
foolish  interpretation.  In  support  of  my  opinion  we  have  again 
the  authority  of  Christ,  when  he  says  in  the  same  passage  : 
"  Whatsoever  ye  shall  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven  ; 
and  whatsoever  ye  shall  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in 
heaven."  (Matt,  xviii.  18.)  This  saying  is  addressed  to  all 
Christians  and  to  every  Christian.  Once  more  he  says  to  the 
same  effect :  "  Again  I  say  unto  you,  that  if  two  of  you  shall 
agree  on  earth  as  touching  anything  that  they  shall  ask,  it 
shall  be  done  for  them  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven." 
(Matt,  xviii.  19.)  Now  a  brother,  laying  open  his  secret  sins  to 
a  brother  and  seeking  pardon,  certainly  agrees  on  earth  with 
that  brother  in  the  truth,  which  is  Christ.  In  confirmation  of 
what  he  had  said  before,  Christ  says  still  more  clearly  in  the 
same  passage :  "  Where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in 
my  name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them."  (Matt,  xviii.  20.) 
From  all  this  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  whosoever, 
voluntarily  confesses  his  sins  privately,  in  the  presence  of 
any  brother,  or,  when  told  of  his  faults,  asks  pardon  and 
amends  his  life,  is  absolved  from  his  secret  sins,  since  Christ  j 
|haj_manjfestly  bestojve(LJ'Iie_J30wgr_^  on  every^ 

believer  in  Hvm,  with  whatever  violence  the  pontiffs  may  rage 
against  this  truth.  Add  also  this  little  argument,  that,  if  any 
reservation  of  hidden  sins  were  valid,  and  there  could  be  no 
salvation  unless  they  were  remitted,  the  greatest  hindrance  to 
salvation  would  lie  in  those  things  which  I  have  mentioned 
above — even  those  good  works  and  idolatries  which  we  are 
taught  at  the  present  day  by  the  pontiffs.  While,  if  these 
most  weighty  matters  are  not  a  hindrance,  with  how  much  less 
reason  are  those  lighter  offences  so  foolishly  reserved !  It  is 
by  the  ignorance  and  blindness  of  the  pastors  that  these 
portents  are  wrought  in  the  Church.  Wherefore  I  would  warn 
these  princes  of  Babylon  and  bishops  of  Beth-aven  to  abstain 
from  reserving  cases  of  any  kind  whatever,  but  to  allow  the 
freest  permission  to  hear  confessions  of  secret  sins  to  all 
brethren  and  sisters ;  so  that  the  sinner  may  reveal  his  sin  to 
whom  he  will,  with  the  object  of  seeking  pardon  and  consola- 
tion, that  is,  the  word  of  Christ  uttered  by  the  mouth  of  his 
neighbour.  They  effect  nothing  by  their  rash  presumption, 
but    to    ensnare   needlessly    the  consciences   of  the  weak,  to 

p 


212  LUTHEK'S    PRIMARY   WORKS 

establish  their  own  wicked  tyranny,  and  to  feed  their  own 
avarice  on  the  sins  and  perdition  of  their  brethren.  Thus 
they  stain  their  hands  with  the  blood  of  souls,  and  children 
are  devoured  by  their  parents,  and  Ephraim  devours  Judah, 
and  Syria  Israel,  as  Isaiah  says. 

To  these  evils  they  have  added  circumstances — mothers, 
daughters,  sisters,  relatives,  branches,  fruits  of  sins,  all  devised 
at  complete  leisure  by  the  most  subtle  of  men,  who  have  set  up, 
even  in  the  matter  of  sins,  a  sort  of  tree  of  consanguinity  and 
affinity.  So  fertile  of  results  are  ignorance  and  impiety ;  for 
these  devices  of  some  worthless  fellow  have  passed  into  public 
law,  as  has  happened  in  many  other  cases.  So  vigilantly  do 
the  shepherds  watch  over  the  Church  of  Christ,  that  what- 
ever dreams  of  superstition  or  of  new  works  these  senseless 
devotees  indulge,  they  forthwith  bring  forward,  and  dress  them 
up  with  indulgences,  and  fortify  them  with  bulls.  So  far 
are  they  from  prohibiting  these  things,  and  protecting  the 
simplicity  of  faith  and  liberty  for  the  people  of  God ;  for  what 
has  liberty  to  do  with  the  tyranny  of  Babylon  ? 

I  should  advise  the  total  neglect  of  all  that  concerns  circum- 
stances. Among  Christians  there  is  but  one  circumstance, 
and  that  is,  that  a  brother  has  sinned.  No  character  is  to 
be  compared  to  Christian  brotherhood ;  nor  has  the  observa- 
tion of  places,  times,  days,  and  persons,  or  any  other  such 
superstitious  exaggeration,  any  effect  but  to  magnify  things 
which  are  nothing,  at  the  expense  of  those  things  which  are 
everything.  As  if  there  could  be  anything  greater  or  more 
weighty  than  the  glory  of  Christian  brotherhood,  they  so  tie 
us  down  to  places  and  days  and  persons,  that  the  name  of 
brother  is  held  cheap,  and  instead  of  being  freemen  we  are 
slaves  in  bondage — we  to  whom  all  days,  places,  persons,  and 
all  other  outward  things,  are  equal. 

How  unworthily  they  have  treated  the  matter  of  satisfaction. 
I  have  abundantly  shown  in  the  case  of  indulgences.  They 
have  abused  it  notably,  to  the  destruction  of  Christians  in 
body  and  in  soul.  -  In  the  first  place,  they  have  so  taught  it 
that  the  people  have  not  understood  the  real  meaning  of 
satisfaction,  which  is  a  change  of  life.  Furthermore,  they  so 
urge  it  and  represent  it  as  necessary,  that  they  leave  no  room 
for  faith  in  Christ ;  but  men's  consciences  are  most  wretchedly 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  213 

tortured  by  scruples  on  this  point.  One  runs  hither,  another 
thither ;  one  to  Bonie,  another  into  a  convent,  another  to  some 
other  place ;  one  scourges  himself  with  rods,  another  destroys 
his  body  with  vigils  and  fasting ;  while  all,  under  one  general 
delusion,  say  :  Here  is  Christ,  or  there ;  and  imagine  that  the 
kingdom  of  God,  which  is  really  within  us,  will  come  with 
observation.  These  monstrous  evils  we  owe  to  thee,  See  of 
Rome,  and  to  thy  homicidal  laws  and  rites,  by  which  thou  hast 
brought  the  world  to  such  a  point  of  ruin,  that  they  think 
they  can  make  satisfaction  to  God  for  their  sins  by  works, 
while  it  is  only  by  the  faith  of  a  contrite  heart  that  He  is 
satisfied.  This  faith  thou  not  only  compellest  to  silence  in 
the  midst  of  these  tumults,  but  strivest  to  destroy,  only 
in  order  that  thy  avarice,  that  insatiable  leech,  may  have 
some  to  whom  to  cry  :  Bring,  bring ;  and  may  make  a  traffic 
of  sins. 

Some  have  even  proceeded  to  such  a  length  in  framing 
engines  of  despair  for  souls,  as  to  lay  it  down  that  all  sins,  the 
satisfaction  enjoined  for  which  has  been  neglected,  must  be 
gone  over  afresh  in  confession.  What  will  not  such  men  dare, 
men  born  for  this  end,  to  bring  everything  ten  times  over  into 
bondage  ?  Moreover,  I  should  like  to  know  how  many  people 
there  are  who  are  fully  persuaded  that  they  are  in  a  state  of 
salvation,  and  are  making  satisfaction  for  their  sins,  when  they 
murmur  over  the  prayers  enjoined  by  the  priest  with  their  lips 
alone,  and  meanwhile  do  not  even  think  of  any  amendment  of 
life.  They  believe  that  by  one  moment  of  contrition  and 
confession  their  whole  life  is  changed,  and  that  there  remains 
merit  enough  over  and  above  to  make  satisfaction  for  their 
past  sins.  How  should  they  know  better,  when  they  are 
taught  nothing  better  ?  There  is  not  a  thought  here  of  morti- 
fication of  the  flesh ;  the  example  of  Christ  goes  for  nothing ; 
who,  when  he  absolved  the  woman  taken  in  adultery,  said  to 
her  :  "  Go,  and  sin  no  more  ;  "  thereby  laying  on  her  the  cross 
of  mortification  of  the  flesh.  No  slight  occasion  has  been 
given  to  these  perverted  ideas  by  our  absolving  sinners  before 
they  have  completed  their  satisfaction  ;  whence  it  comes  that 
they  are  more  anxious  about  completing  their  satisfaction, 
which  is  a  thing  that  lasts,  than  about  contrition,  which  they 
think  has  been  gone  through  in  the  act  of  confession.     On  the 

p  2 


6  O 


214  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

contrary,  absolution  ought  to  follow  the  completion  of  satisfac- 
tion, as  it  did  in  the  primitive  Church,  whence  it  happened 
that,  the  work  being  over,  they  were  afterwards  more  exercised 
in  faith  and  newness  of  life.  On  this  subject,  however,  it  must 
suffice  to  have  repeated  so  far  what  I  have  said  at  greater  length 
in  writing  on  indulgences.  Let  it  also  suffice  for  the  present 
to  have  said  this  much  in  the  whole  respecting  these  three  sacra- 
ments, which  are  treated  of  and  not  treated  of  in  so  many  mis- 
chievous books  of  Sentences  and  of  law.  It  remains  for  me  to 
say  a  few  words  about  the  remaining  sacraments  also,  that  I 
may  not  appear  to  have  rejected  them  without  sufficient  reason. 


OF  CONFIRMATION. 


It  is  surprising  that  it  should  have  entered  any  one's  mind  to 
make  a  Sacrament  of  Confirmation  out  of  that  laying  on  of 
hands  which  Christ  applied  to  little  children,  and  by  which 
the  apostles  bestowed  the  Holy  Spirit,  ordained  presbyters, 
and  healed  the  sick ;  as  the  Apostle  writes  to  Timothy : 
"Lay  hands  suddenly  on  no  man."  (1  Tim.  v.  22.)  Why  not 
also* make  a  confirmation  out  of  the  sacrament  of  bread,  be- 
cause it  is  written :  "  And  when  he  had  received  meat,  he 
was  strengthened "  (Acts  ix.  19) ;  or  again :  "  Bread  which 
strengthened  man's  heart  ?  "  (Ps.  civ.  15.)  Thus  confirmation 
would  include  three  sacraments,  of  bread,  of  orders,  and  of 
confirmation  itself.  But  if  whatever  the  apostles  did  is  a 
sacrament,  why  has  not  preaching  rather  been  made  into  a 
sacrament  ? 

I  do  not  say  this,  because  I  condemn  the  seven  sacraments, 
but  because  I  deny  that  they  can  be  proved  from  the  Scriptures. 
I  wish  there  were  in  the  Church  such  a  laying  on  of  hands  as 
there  was  in  the  time  of  the  Apostles,  whether  we  chose  to 
call  it  confirmation  or  healing.  As  it  is,  however,  none  of  it 
remains,  except  so  much  as  we  have  ourselves  invented  in  order 
to  regulate  the  duties  of  the  bishops,  that  they  may  not  be 
entirely  without  work  in  the  Church.  For  when  they  had 
left  the  sacraments  which  involved  labour,  along  with  the 
word,  to  their  inferiors,  as  being  beneath  their  attention  (on 


I  HE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  215 

the  ground,  forsooth,  that  whatever  institutions  the  Divine 
majesty  has  set  up  must  needs  be  an  object  of  contempt  to  men), 
it  was  but  right  that  we  should  invent  some  easy  duty,  not  too 
troublesome  for  the  daintiness  of  these  great  heroes,  and  by 
no  means  commit  it  to  inferiors,  as  if  it  were  of  little 
importance.  What  human  wisdom  has  ordained  ought  to  be 
honoured  by  men.  Thus,  such  as  the  priests  are,  such  should  be 
the  ministry  and  office  which  they  hold.  For  what  is  a  bishop 
who  does  not  preach  the  gospel,  or  attend  to  the  cure  of  souls, 
but  an  idol  in  the  world,  having  the  name  and  form  of  a  bishop  ? 
At  present,  however,  we  are  enquiring  into  the  sacraments 
of  divine  institution ;  and  I  can  find  no  reason  for  reckoning 
confirmation  among  these.  To  constitute  a  sacrament  we  /' 
require  in  the  very  first  place  a  word  of  divine  promise,  on 
whicnfaith  may  exercise  itself.  But  we  do  not  read  that 
Chmt-erer  gave  any  promise  respecting  confirmation,  although 
he  himself  laid  hands  upon  many,  and  although  he  mentions 
among  the  signs  that  should  follow  them  that  believe  :  "  They 
shall  lay  hands  on  the  sick,  and  they  shall  recover."  (Mark  xvi. 
18.)  No  one,  however,  has  interpreted  these  words  of  a 
sacrament,  or  could  do  so.(  It  is  enough  then  to  consider 
confirmation  as  a  rite  or  ceremony  of  the  Church ;  of  like  , 
nature  to  those  other  ceremonies  by  which  water  and  other 
things  are  consecrated.  For  if  every  other  creature  is  sanctified 
by  the  word  and  prayer,  why  may  not  man  much  more  be 
sanctified  by  the  same  means,  even  though  they  cannot  be 
called  sacraments  of  faith,  inasmuch  as  they  contain  no  divine 
promise  ?  Neither  do  these  work  salvation  ;  while  sacraments 
save  those  who  believe  in  the  divine  promise. 


OF  MATBIMONY. 


It  is  not  only  without  any  warrant  of  Scripture  that 
matrimony  is  considered  a  sacrament,  but  •  it  has  been  turned 
into  a  mere  mockery  by  the  very  same  traditions  which  vaunt 
it  as  a  sacrament.  Let  us  look  a  little  into  this.  I  have  said 
that  in  every  sacrament  there  is  contained  a  word  of  divine 
promise,  which  must  be  believed  in  by  him  who  receives  the 


rr 


216  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

sign;  and  that  the  sign  alone  cannot  constitute  a  sacrament. 
Now  we  nowhere  read  that  he  who  marries  a  wife  will  receive 
any  grace  from  God ;  neither  is  there  in  matrimony  any  sign 
of  divine  institution,  nor  do  we  anywhere  read  that  it  was 
appointed  of  God  to  be  a  sign  of  anything;  although  it  is 
true  that  all  visible  transactions  may  be  understood  as  figures 
and  allegorical  representations  of  invisible  things.  But  figures 
and  allegories  are  not  sacraments,  in  the  sense  in  which  we 
are  speaking  of  sacraments. 

Furthermore,  since  matrimony  has  existed  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  world,  and  still  continues  even  among  unbelievers, 
there  are  no  reasons  why  it  should  be  called  a  sacrament  of 
the  new  law,  and  of  the  Church  alone.  The  marriages  of  the 
patriarchs  were  not  less  marriages  than  ours,  nor  are  those  of 
unbelievers  less  real  than  those  of  believers  ;  and  yet  no  one 
calls  them  a  sacrament.  Moreover  there  are  among  believers 
wicked  husbands  and  wives,  worse  than  any  Gentiles.  Why 
should  we  then  say  there  is  a  sacrament  here,  and  not  among 
the  Gentiles  ?  Shall  we  so  trifle  with  baptism  and  the  Church  as 
to  say,  like  those  who  rave  about  the  temporal  power  existing 
only  in  the  Church,  that  matrimony  is  a  sacrament  only  in  the 
Church  ?  Such  assertions  are  childish  and  ridiculous,  and  by 
them  we  expose  our  ignorance  and  rashness  to  the  laughter  of 
unbelievers. 

It  will  be  asked  however  :  Does  not  the  Apostle  say  that 
"they  two  shall  be  one  flesh,"  and  that  "this  is  a  great 
sacrament ;  "  and  will  you  contradict  the  plain  words  of  the 
Apostle  ?  I  reply  that  this  argument  is  a  very  dull  one,  and 
proceeds  from  a  careless  and  thoughtless  reading  of  the 
original.  Throughout  the  holy  Scriptures  this  word  "  sacra- 
mentum"  has  not  the  meaning  in  which  we  employ  it,  but  an 
opposite  one.  '  For  it  everywhere  signifies,  not  the  sign  of  a 
sacred  thing,  but  a  sacred  thing  which  is  secret  and  hidden. 
Thus  Paul  says  :  "  Let  a  man  so  account  of  us,  as  of  the 
ministers  of  Christ,  and  stewards  of  the  mysteries  (that  is, 
sacraments)  of  God."  (1  Cor.  iv.  1.)  Where  we  use  the  Latin 
term  "  sacrament,"  in  Greek  the  word  "  mystery  "  is  employed  ; 
and  thus  in  Greek  the  words  of  the  Apostle  are :  "  They  two 
shall  be  one  flesh ;  this  is  a  great  mystery."  This  ambiguity 
has  led  men  to  consider  marriage  as  a  sacrament  of  the  new 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  217 

law,  which  they  would  have  been  far  from  doing,  if  they  had 
read  the  word  "  mystery,"  as  it  is  in  the  Greek. 

Thus  the  Apostle  calls  Christ  himself  a  "  sacrament," 
saying :  "  And  without  controversy  great  is  the  sacrament 
(that  is,  mystery)  of  godliness.  God  was  manifest  in  the  flesh, 
justified  in  the  spirit,  seen  of  angels,  preached  unto  the 
Grentiles,  believed  on  in  the  world,  received  up  into  glory." 
(1  Tim.  iii.  16.)  Why  have  they  not  deduced  from  this  an 
eighth  sacrament  of  the  new  law,  under  such  clear  authority 
from  Paul?  Or,  if  they  restrained  themselves  in  this  case, 
where  they  might  so  suitably  have  been  copious  in  the  inven- 
tion of  sacraments,  why  are  they  so  lavish  of  them  in  the 
other?  It  is  because  they  have  been  misled  by  their  ignorance 
as  well  of  things  as  of  words ;  they  have  been  caught  by  the 
mere  sound  of  the  words  and  by  their  own  fancies.  Having 
once,  on  human  authority,  taken  a  sacrament  to  be  a  sign, 
they  have  proceeded,  without  any  judgment  or  scruple,  to 
make  the  word  mean  a  sign,  wherever  they  have  met  with  it 
in  the  sacred  writings.  Just  as  they  have  imported  other 
meanings  of  words  and  human  habits  of  speech  into  the  sacred 
writings,  and  transformed  these  into  dreams  of  their  own, 
making  anything  out  of  anything.  Hence  their  constant 
senseless  use  of  the  words :  good  works,  bad  works,  sin,  grace, 
righteousness,  virtue,  and  almost  all  the  most  important  words 
and  things.  They  use  all  these  at  their  own  discretion, 
founded  on  the  writings  of  men,  to  the  ruin  of  the  truth  of  God 
and  of  our  salvation. 

Thus  sacrament  and  mystery,  in  Paul's  meaning,  are  the 
very  wisdom  of  the  Spirit,  hidden  in  a  mystery,  as  he  says  : 
"  Which  none  of  the  princes  of  this  world  knew ;  for  had  they 
known  it,  they  would  not  have  crucified  the  Lord  of  glory." 
(1  Cor.  ii.  8.)  There  remains  to  this  day  this  folly,  this  stone 
of  stumbling  and  rock  of  offence,  this  sign  which  shall  be 
spoken  against.  Paul  calls  preachers  the  stewards  of  these 
mysteries,  because  they  preach  Christ,  the  power  and  wisdom 
of  God ;  but  so  preach  him  that  unless  men  believe,  they 
cannot  understand.  Thus  a  sacrament  means  a  mystery  and  a 
hidden  thing,  which  is  made  known  by  words,  but  is  received 
by  faith  of  heart.  Such  is  the  passage  of  which  we  are 
speaking  at  present :    "  They  two  shall  be  one  flesh  ;    this  is  a 


218  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

great  mystery."  These  men  think  that  this  was  said  concern- 
ing matrimony ;  but  Paul  brings  in  these  words  in  speaking  of 
Christ  and  the  Church,  and  explains  his  meaning  clearly  by 
saying :  "  I  speak  concerning  Christ  and  the  Church."  See 
how  well  Paul  and  these  men  agree !  Paul  says  that  he  is 
setting  forth  a  great  mystery  concerning  Christ  and  the 
Church ;  while  they  set  it  forth  as  concerning  male  and  female. 
If  men  may  thus  indulge  their  own  caprices  in  interpreting 
the  sacred  writings,  what  wonder  if  anything  can  be  found  in 
them,  were  it  even  a  hundred  sacraments  ? 

Christ  then  and  the  Church  are  a  mystery,  that  is,  a  great 
and  hidden  thing,  which  may  indeed  and  ought  to  be  figured 
by  matrimony,  as  in  a  sort  of  real  allegory ;  but  it  does  not 
follow  that  matrimony  ought  to  be  called  a  sacrament.  The 
heavens  figuratively  represent  the  apostles ;  the  sun  Christ ;  the 
waters  nations ;  but  these  things  are  not  therefore  sacraments ; 
for  in  all  these  cases  the  institution  is  wanting  and  the  divine 
promise ;  and  these  it  is  which  make  a  sacrament  complete. 
Hence  Paul  is  either,  of  his  own  spirit,  applying  to  Christ  the 
words  used  in  Genesis  concerning  matrimony,  or  else  he  teaches 
that,  in  their  general  sense,  the  spiritual  marriage  of  Christ  is 
also  there  declared,  saying :  "  Even  as  the  Lord  cherisheth  the 
Church ;  for  we  are  members  of  his  body,  of  his  flesh,  and  of  his 
bones.  For  this  cause  shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and  mother, 
and  shall  be  joined  unto  his  wife,  and  they  two  shall  be  one  flesh. 
This  is  a  great  mystery,  but  I  speak  concerning  Christ  and  the 
Church."  (Eph.  v.  29-32.)  We  see  that  he  means  this  whole 
text  to  be  understood  as  spoken  by  him  about  Christ.  He 
purposely  warns  the  reader  to  understand  the  "  Sacrament  "  as 
in  Christ  and  the  Church,  not  in  matrimony. 

I  admit,  indeed,  that  even  under  the  old  law,  nay,  from  the 
beginning  of  the  world,  there  was  a  sacrament  of  penitence ; 
but  the  new  promise  of  penitence  and  the  gift  of  the  keys  are 
peculiar  to  the  new  law.  As  we  have  baptism  in  the  place  of 
circumcision,  so  we  now  have  the  keys  in  the  place  of  sacrifices 
or  other  signs  of  penitence.  I  have  said  above  that,  at  different 
times,  the  same  God  has  given  different  promises  and  different 
signs  for  the  remission  of  sins  and  the  salvation  of  men,  while 
yet  it  is  the  same  grace  that  all  have  received.  As  it  is 
written  :  "  We,  having  the  same  spirit  of  faith,  believe,  and 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  219 

therefore  speak."  (2  Cor.  iv.  13.)  "  Our  fathers  did  all  eat  the 
same  spiritual  meat,  and  did  all  drink  the  same  spiritual  drink ; 
for  they  drank  of  that  spiritual  rock  that  followed  them,  and 
that  rock  was  Christ."  (1  Cor.  x.  3,  4.)  "  These  all  died  in 
faith,  not  having  received  the  promises ;  God  having  provided 
some  better  thing  for  us,  that  they  without  us  should  not  be 
made  perfect."  (Heb.  xi.  13,  40.)  For  Christ  himself,  the  same 
yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  for  ever,  is  the  head  of  his  Church 
from  the  beginning  even  to  the  end  of  the  world.  There  are 
then  different  signs,  but  the  faith  of  all  believers  is  the  same  ; 
since  without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  God,  and  by  it 
Abel  pleased  Him. 

Let  then  matrimony  be  a  figure  of  Christ  and  the  Church, 
not  however  a  sacrament  divinely  instituted,  but  one  invented 
in  the  Church  by  men  led  astray  by  their  ignorance  alike  of 
things  and  of  words.  So  far  as  this  invention  is  not  injurious 
to  the  faith,  it  must  be  borne  with  in  charity ;  just  as  many 
other  devices  of  human  weakness  and  ignorance  are  borne 
with  in  the  Church,  so  long  as  they  are  not  injurious  to 
faith  and  to  the  sacred  writings.  But  we  are  now  con- 
tending for  the  firmness  and  purity  of  faith  and  of  Scripture ; 
lest,  if  we  affirm  anything  to  be  contained  in  the  sacred 
writings  and  in  the  articles  of  our  faith,  and  it  is  after- 
wards proved  not  to  be  so  contained,  we  should  expose  our 
faith  to  mockery,  be  found  ignorant  of  our  own  special  business, 
cause  scandal  to  our  adversaries  and  to  the  weak,  and  fail  to 
exalt  the  authority  of  holy  Scripture.  For  we  must  make  the 
widest  possible  distinction  between  those  things  which  have 
been  delivered  to  us  from  God  in  the  sacred  writings,  and 
those  which  have  been  invented  in  the  Church  by  men,  of 
however  eminent  authority  from  their  holiness  and  their 
learning. 

Thus  far  I  have  spoken  of  matrimony  itself.  But  what  shall 
we  say  of  those  impious  human  laws  by  which  this  divinely 
appointed  manner  of  life  has  been  entangled  and  tossed  up  and  ' 
down  ?  Good  God  !  it  is  horrible  to  look  upon  the  temerity  of 
the  tyrants  of  Eome,  who  thus,  according  to  their  own  caprices, 
at  one  time  annul  marriages  and  at  another  time  enforce  them. 
Is  the  human  race  given  over  to  their  caprice  for  nothing  but 
to  be  mocked  and  abused  in  every  way,  and  that  these  men 


220  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

may  do  what  they  please  with  it  for  the  sake  of  their  own  fatal 

A  gains? 

There  is  a  book  in  general  circulation  and  held  in  no  slight 
esteem,  which  has  been  confusedly  put  together  out  of  all  the 
dregs  and  filth  of  human  traditions,  and  entitled  the  Angelic 
Summary ;  while  it  is  really  a  more  than  diabolical  summary. 
In  this  book,  among  an  infinite  number  of  monstrous  state- 

i  ments,  by  which  confessors  are  supposed  to  be  instructed,  while 
jthey  are  in  truth  most  ruinously  confused,  eighteen  impediments 
I  to  matrimony  are  enumerated.  If  we  look  at  these  with  the 
just  and  free  eye  of  faith,  we  shall  see  that  the  writer  is  of  the 
number  of  those  of  whom  the  Apostle  foretold  that  they  should 
"  give  heed  to  seducing  spirits  and  doctrines  of  devils  ;  speak- 
ing lies  in  hypocrisy ;  forbidding  to  marry."  (1  Tim.  iv.  1-3.) 
What  is  forbidding  to  marry,  if  this  is  not  forbidding  it — to 
invent  so  many  impediments,  and  to  set  so  many  snares,  that 
marriages  cannot  be  contracted,  or,  if  they  are  contracted,  must 
be  dissolved  ?  Who  has  given  this  power  to  men  ?  Granted  that 
such  men  have  been  holy  and  led  by  a  pious  zeal ;  why  does  the 
holiness  of  an©  ther  encroach  upon  my  liberty  ?  Why  does  the 
zeal  of  another  bring  me  into  bondage  ?  Let  whosoever  will 
be  as  holy  and  as  zealous  as  he  will,  but  let  him  not  injure 
others,  or  rob  me  of  my  liberty. 

I  rejoice,  however,  that  these  disgraceful  laws  have  at  length 
attained  the  glory  they  deserve,  in  that  by  their  aid  the  men  of 
Eome  have  nowadays  become  common  traders.  And  what  do 
they  sell  ?  The  shame  of  men  and  women ;  a  merchandise 
worthy  of  these  traffickers,  who  surpass  all  that  is  most  sordid 
and  disgusting  in  their  avarice  and  impiety.  There  is  not  one 
of  those  impediments,  which  cannot  be  removed  at  the  inter- 
cession of  Mammon ;  so  that  these  laws  seem  to  have   been 

"  made  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  be  nets  for  money  and 
snares  for  souls  in  the  hands  of  those  greedy  and  rapacious 
Nimrods;  and  in  order  that  we  might  see  in  the  holy  place, 
in  the  Church  of  God,  the  abomination  of  the  public  sale  of 
the  shame  and  ignominy  of  both  sexes.  A  business  worthy  of 
our  pontiffs,  and  fit  to  be  carried  on  by  men  who,  with  the 
utmost  disgrace  and  baseness,  are  given  over  to  a  reprobate 
mind,  instead  of  that  ministry  of  the  gospel  which,  in  their 
avarice  and  ambition,  they  despise. 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  221 

But  what  am  I  to  say  or  do  ?  If  I  were  to  enter  upon 
every  particular,  this  treatise  would  extend  beyond  all  bounds ; 
for  the  subject  is  in  the  utmost  confusion,  so  that  no  one  can 
tell  where  he  is  to  begin,  how  far  he  is  to  go,  or  where  he  is 
to  stop.  This  I  know,  that  no  commonwealth  can  be  pros- 
perously administered  by  mere  laws.  If  the  magistrate  is 
a  wise  man,  he  will  govern  more  happily  under  the  guidance 
of  nature  than  by  any  laws  ;  if  he  is  not  a  wise  man,  he  will 
effect  nothing  but  mischief  by  laws,  since  he  will  not  know 
how  to  use  them,  or  to  adapt  them  to  the  wants  of  the  time.  In 
public  matters,  therefore,  it  is  of  more  importance  that  good  and 
wise  men  should  be  at  the  head  of  affairs,  than  that  any  laws 
should  be  passed ;  for  such  men  will  themselves  be  the  best  of 
laws,  since  they  will  judge  cases  of  all  kinds  with  energy  and 
justice.  If,  together  with  natural  wisdom,  there  be  learning 
in  divine  things,  then  it  is  clearly  superfluous  and  mischievous 
to  have  any  written  laws ;  and  charity  above  all  things  has 
absolutely  no  need  of  laws.  I  say,  however,  and  do  all  that  in 
me  lies,  admonishing  and  entreating  all  priests  and  friars, 
if  they  see  any  impediment  with  which  the  Pope  can  dispense, 
but  which  is  not  mentioned  in  Scripture,  to  consider  all  those 
marriages  valid  which  have  been  contracted,  in  whatever  way, 
contrary  to  ecclesiastical  or  pontifical  laws.  Let  them  arm 
themselves  with  the  Divine  law  which  says :  What  God  hath 
joined  together,  let  not  man  put  asunder.  The  union  of 
husband  and  wife  is  one  of  divine  right,  and  holds  good,  how- 
ever much  against  the  laws  of  men  it  may  have  taken  place, 
and  the  laws  of  men  ought  to  give  place  to  it,  without  any 
scruple.  For  if  a  man  is  to  leave  his  father  and  mother  and 
cleave  to  his  wife,  how  much  more  ought  he  to  tread  under 
foot  the  frivolous  and  unjust  laws  of  men,  that  he  may  cleave 
1  to  his  wife  ?  If  the  Pope,  or  any  bishop  or  official,  dissolves 
i  any  marriage,  because  it  has  been  contracted  contrary  to  the 
papal  laws,  he  is  an  antichrist,  does  violence  to  nature,  and  is 
guilty  of  treason  against  God ;  because  this  sentence  stands : 
Whom  God  hath  joined  together,  let  not  man  put  asunder. 

Besides  this,  man  has  no  right  to  make  such  laws,  and  the 
liberty  bestowed  on  Christians  through  Christ  is  above  all  the 
laws  of  men,  especially  when  the  divine  law  comes  in,  as  Christ 
says  :  "  The  Sabbath  was  made  for  man,  and  not  man  for  the 


222  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

Sabbath ;  therefore  the  Son  of  man  is  Lord  also  of  the  Sabbath." 
(Mark  ii.  27-28.)  Again,  such  laws  were  condemned  before- 
hand by  Paul,  when  he  foretold  that  those  should  arise  who 
would  forbid  to  marry.  Hence  in  this  matter  all  those  rigorous 
impediments  derived  from  spiritual  affinity,  or  legal  relationship 
and  consanguinity,  must  give  way,  as  far  as  is  permitted  by 
the  sacred  writings,  in  which  only  the  second  grade  of  con- 
sanguinity is  prohibited,  as  it  is  written  in  the  book  of  Leviticus, 
where  twelve  persons  are  prohibited,  namely  : — mother,  step- 
mother, full  sister,  half  sister  by  either  parent,  grand- daughter, 
father's  sister,  mother's  sister,  daughter-in-law,  brother's  wife, 
wife's  sister,  step-daughter,  uncle's  wife.  In  these  only  the 
first  grade  of  affinity  and  the  second  of  consanguinity  are  pro- 
hibited, and  not  even  these  universally,  as  is  clear  when  we 
look  carefully  at  the  subject ;  for  the  daughter  and  grand- 
daughter of  a  brother  and  sister  are  not  mentioned  as  prohibited, 
though  they  are  in  the  second  grade.  Hence,  if  at  any  time 
a  marriage  has  been  contracted  outside  these  grades,  than  which 
no  others  have  ever  been  prohibited  by  God's  appointment,  it 
ought  by  no  means  to  be  dissolved  on  account  of  any  laws  of 
men.  Matrimony,  being  a  divine  institution,  is  incomparably 
above  all  laws,  and  therefore  it  cannot  rightfully  be  broken 
through  for  the  sake  of  laws,  but  rather  laws  for  its  sake. 

Thus  all  those  fanciful  spiritual  affinities  of  father,  mother, 
brother,  sister,  or  child,  ought  to  be  utterly  done  away  with  in 
the  contracting  of  matrimony.  What  but  the  superstition  of 
man  has  invented  that  spiritual  relationship  ?  If  he  who 
baptizes  is  not  permitted  to  marry  her  whom  he  has  baptized, 
or  a  godfather  his  god-daughter,  why  is  a  Christian  man 
permitted  to  marry  a  Christian  woman  ?  Is  the  relationship 
established  by  a  ceremony  or  by  the  sign  of  the  sacrament 
stronger  than  that  established  by  the  substance  itself  of  the 
sacrament  ?  Is  not  a  Christian  man  the  brother  of  a  Christian 
sister  ?  Is  not  a  baptized  man  the  spiritual  brother  of  a 
baptized  woman  ?  How  can  we  be  so  senseless  ?  If  a  man 
instructs  his  wife  in  the  gospel  and  in  the  faith  of  Christ,  and 
thus  becomes  truly  her  father  in  Christ,  shall  it  not  be  lawful 
for  her  to  continue  his  wife  ?  Would  not  Paul  have  been  at 
liberty  to  marry  a  maiden  from  among  those  Corinthians,  all 
of  whom  he  declares  that  he  had  begotten  in  Christ  ?     See, 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  223 

then,  how  Christian  liberty  has  been  crushed  by  the  blindness 
of  human  superstition  !  • 

Much  more  idle  still  is  the  doctrine  of  legal  relationship ; 
and  yet  they  have  raised  even  this  above  the  divine  right  of 
matrimony.  (  Nor  can  I  agree  to  that  impediment  which  they 
call  disparity  of  religion,  and  which  forbids  a  man  to  marry  an 
unbaptized  woman, neither  simply,  nor  on  condition  of  converting 
her  to  the  faith.  Who  has  prohibited  this,  God  or  man  ?  Who 
has  given  men  authority  to  prohibit  marriages  of  this  kind  ? 
Verily  the  spirits  that  speak  lies  in  hypocrisy,  as  Paul  says ;  of 
whom  it  may  be  truly  said :  The  wicked  have  spoken  lies  to 
me,  but  not  according  to  thy  law.  Patricius,  a  heathen, 
married  Monica,  the  mother  of  St.  Augustine,  who  was  a 
Christian  ;  why  should  not  the  same  thing  be  lawful  now  ?  A 
like  instance  of  foolish,  nay  wicked  rigour  is  the  impediment 
of  crime ;  as  when  a  man  marries  a  woman  previously  polluted 
by  adultery,  or  has  plotted  the  death  of  a  woman's  husband,  that 
he  may  be  able  to  marry  her.  Whence,  I  ask,  a  severity  on  the 
part  of  men  against  men,  such  as  even  Grod  has  never  exacted  ? 
Do  these  men  pretend  not  to  know  that  David,  a  most  holy 
man,  married  Bathsheba  the  wife  of  Uriah,  though  both  these 
crimes  had  been  committed ;  that  is,  though  she  had  been 
polluted  by  adultery  and  her  husband  had  been  murdered  ?  If 
the  divine  law  did  this,  why  do  tyrannical  men  act  thus  against 
their  fellow  servants  ? 

It  is  also  reckoned  as  an  impediment  when  there  exists  what 
they  call  a  bond ;  that  is,  when  one  person  is  bound  to  another 
by  betrothal.  In  this  case  they  conclude  that  if  either  party 
have  subsequently  had  intercourse  with  a  third,  the  former 
betrothal  comes  to  an  end.  I  cannot  at  all  receive  this  doctrine. 
In  my  judgment,  a  man  who  has  bound  himself  to  one  person 
is  no  longer  at  his  own  disposal,  and  therefore,  under  the  pro- 
hibitions of  the  divine  right,  owes  himself  to  the  former,  though 
he  has  not  had  intercourse  with  her,  even  if  he  have  afterwards 
had  intercourse  with  another.  It  was  not  in  his  power  to  give 
what  he  did  not  possess ;  he  has  deceived  her  with  whom  he  has 
had  intercourse,  and  has  really  coniniitwd  adultery.  That  which 
has  led  some  to  think  otherwise  is  that  they  have  looked  more 
to  the  fleshly  union  than  to  the  divine  command,  under  which 
he  who  has  promised  fidelity  to  one  person  is  bound  to  observe 


224  LUTHER'S    PRIMARY   WORKS 

it.  He  who  desires  to  give,  ought  to  give  of  that  which  is  his 
own.  God  forbid  that  any  man  should  go  beyond  or  defraud 
his  brother  in  any  matter ;  for  good  faith  ought  to  be  preserved 
beyond  and  above  all  traditions  of  all  men.  Thus  I  believe 
that  such  a  man  cannot  with  a  safe  conscience  cohabit  with  a 
second  woman,  and  that  this  impediment  ought  to  be  entirely 
reversed.  If  a  vow  of  religion  deprives  a  man  of  his  power  over 
himself,  why  not  also  a  pledge  of  fidelity  given  and  received ; 
especially  since  the  latter  rests  on  the  teaching  and  fruits  of 
the  Spirit  (Gal.  v.),  while  the  former  rests  on  human  choice  ? 
And  if  a  wife  may  return  to  her  husband,  notwithstanding  any 
vow  of  religion  she  may  have  made,  why  should  not  a  betrothed 
man  return  to  his  betrothed,  even  if  connexion  with  another  have 
followed  ?  We  have  said,  however,  above  that  a  man  who  has 
pledged  his  faith  to  a  maiden  is  not  at  liberty  to  make  a  vow  of 
religion,  but  is  bound  to  marry  her,  because  he  is  bound  to 
keep  his  faith,  and  is  not  at  liberty  to  abandon  it  for  the  sake 
of  any  human  tradition,  since  God  commands  that  it  should  be 
kept.  Much  more  will  it  be  his  duty  to  observe  his  pledge  to 
the  first  to  whom  he  has  given  it,  because  it  was  only  with  a 
deceitful  heart  that  he  could  give  it  to  a  second ;  and  therefore 
he  has  not  really  given  it,  but  has  deceived  his  neighbour, 
against  the  law  of  God.  Hence  the  impediment  called  that  of 
error  takes  effect  here,  and  annuls  the  marriage  with  the  second 
woman. 

The  impediment  of  holy  orders  is  also  a  mere  contrivance  of 
;  men,  especially  when  they  idly  assert  that  even  a  marriage  already 
contracted  is  annulled  by  this  cause,  always  exalting  their  own 
traditions  above  the  commands  of  God.  I  give  no  judgment 
respecting  the  order  of  the  priesthood,  such  as  it  is  at  the 
present  day ;  but  I  see  that  Paul  commands  that  a  bishop 
should  be  the  husband  of  one  wife,  and  therefore  the  marriage 
of  a  deacon,  of  a  priest,  of  a  bishop,  or  of  a  man  in  any  kind  of 
orders,  cannot  be  annulled ;  although  Paul  knew  nothing 
of  that  kind  of  priests  and  those  orders  which  we  have  at  the 
present  day.  Perish  then  these  accursed  traditions  of  men, 
which  have  come  in  for  no  other  end  than  to  multiply  perils, 
sins,  and  evils  in  the  Church  !  Between  a  priest  and  his  wife, 
then,  there  is  a  true  and  inseparable  marriage,  approved  by  the 
divine  command.    What  if  wicked  men  forbid  or  annul  it  of  their 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  225 

own  mere  tyranny  ?  Be  it  that  it  is  unlawful  in  the  sight  of 
men ;  yet  it  is  lawful  in  the  sight  of  God,  whose  commandment, 
if  it  be  contrary  to  the  commandments  of  men,  is  to  be  preferred. 

Just  as  much  a  human  contrivance  is  the  so-called  impedi- 
ment _of_public  propriety,  by  which  contracted  marriages  are 
annulled.  I  am  indignant  at  the  audacious  impiety  which  is 
so  ready  to  separate  what  God  has  joined  together.  You  may 
recognise  Antichrist  in  this  opposition  to  everything  which 
Christ  did  or  taught.  What  reason  is  there,  I  ask,  why,  on  the 
death  of  a  betrothed  husband  before  actual  marriage,  no  relative 
by  blood,  even  to  the  fourth  degree,  can  marry  her  who  was  / 
betrothed  to  him  ?  This  is  no  vindication  of  public  propriety, 
but  mere  ignorance  of  it.  Why  among  the  people  of  Israel, 
which  possessed  the  best  laws,  given  by  God  himself,  was  there 
no  such  vindication  of  public  propriety  ?  On  the  contrary, 
by  the  very  command  of  God,  the  nearest  relative  was  com- 
pelled to  marry  her  who  had  been  left  a  widow.  Ought  the 
people  who  are  in  Christian  liberty  to  be  burdened  with  more 
rigid  laws  than  the  people  who  were  in  legal  bondage  ?  And 
to  make  an  end  of  these  figments  rather  than  impediments,  I 
will  say  that  at  present  it  is  evident  to  me  that  there  is  no 
impediment  which  can  rightfully  annul  a  marriage  already  con- 
tracted, except  physical  unfitness  for  cohabiting  with  a  wife, 
ignorance  of  a  marriage  previously  contracted,  or  a  vow  of 
chastity.  \  Concerning  such  a  vow,  however,  I  am  so  uncertain 
even  to  the  present  moment,  that  I  do  not  know  at  what  time 
it  ought  to  be  reckoned  valid ;  as  I  have  said  above  in  speaking 
of  baptism.  Learn  then,  in  this  one  matter  of  matrimony,  into 
what  an  unhappy  and  hopeless  state  of  confusion,  hindrance, 
entanglement,  and  peril  all  things  that  are  done  in  the  Church 
have  been  brought  by  the  pestilent,  unlearned,  and  impious 
traditions  of  men !  There  is  no  hope  of  a  remedy,  unless  we 
can  do  away  once  for  all  with  all  the  laws  of  all  men,  call  back 
the  gospel  of  liberty,  and  judge  and  rule  all  things  according 
to  it  alone.     Amen. 

It  is  necessary  also  to  deal  with  the  question  of  physical 
incapacity.  But  be  it  premised  that  I  desire  what  I  have  said 
about  impediments  to  be  understood  of  marriages  already 
contracted,  which  ought  not  to  be  annulled  for  any  such  causes. 
But  with  regard  to  the  contracting  of  matrimony  I  may  brieflv 


226  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

repeat  what  I  have  said  before,  that  if  there  be  any  urgency 

of  youthful  love,  or  any  other  necessity,  on  account  of  which 

the  Pope  grants  a  dispensation,  then  any  brother  can  also  grant 

a  dispensation  to  his  brother,  or  himself  to  himself,  and  thus 

snatch  his  wife,  in  whatever  way  he  can,  out  of  the  hands  of 

tyrannical  laws.     Why  is  my  liberty  to  be  done  away  with  by 

another  man's  superstition  and  ignorance  ?    Or  if  the  Pope  gives 

dispensation  for  money,  why  may  not  I  give  a  dispensation  to 

my  brother  or  to  myself  for  the  advantage  of  my  own  salvation  ? 

Does  the  Pope  establish  laws?    Let  him  establish  them  for 

himself,  but  let  my  liberty  be  untouched. 

#  *  *  *  *  * 

The  question  of  divorce  is  also  discussed,  whether  it  be 
lawful.  I,  for  my  part,  detest  divorce,  and  even  prefer  bigamy 
to  it ;  but  whether  it  be  lawful  I  dare  not  define.  Christ 
himself,  the  chief  of  shepherds,  says  :  "  Whosoever  shall  put 
away  his  wife,  saving  for  the  cause  of  fornication,  causeth  her 
to  commit  adultery ;  and  whosoever  shall  marry  her  that  is 
divorced  committeth  adultery."  (Matt.  v.  32.)  Christ  therefore 
permits  divorce  only  in  the  case  of  fornication.  Hence  the 
Pope  must  necessarily  be  wrong,  as  often  as  he  permits  divorce 
for  other  reasons,  nor  ought  any  man  forthwith  to  consider 
himself  safe,  because  he  has  obtained  a  dispensation  by  ponti- 
fical audacity  rather  than  power.  I  am  more  surprised, 
however,  that  they  compel  a  man  who  has  been  separated  from 
his  wife  by  divorce  to  remain  single,  and  do  not  allow  him  to 
marry  another.  For  if  Christ  permits  divorce  for  the  cause  of 
fornication,  and  does  not  compel  any  man  to  remain  single,  and  if 
Paul  bids  us  rather  to  marry  than  to  burn,  this  seems  plainly  to 
allow  of  a  man's  marrying  another  in  the  place  of  her  whom  he 
has  put  away.  I  wish  that  this  subject  were  fully  discussed 
and  made  clear,  that  provision  might  be  made  for  the  number- 
less perils  of  those  who  at  the  present  day  are  compelled  to 
remain  single  without  any  fault  of  their  own ;  that  is,  whose 
wives  or  husbands  have  fled  and  deserted  their  partner,  not  to 
return  for  ten  years,  or  perhaps  never.  I  am  distressed  and 
grieved  by  these  cases,  which  are  of  daily  occurrence,  whether 
this  happens  by  the  special  malice  of  Satan,  or  from  our  neglect 
of  the  word  of  God. 

I   cannot   by   myself    establish    any   rule   contrary    to   the 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  227 

opinion  of  all ;  but  for  my  own  part,  I  should  exceedingly 
wish  at  least  to  see  applied  to  this  subject  the  words  :  "  But 
if  the  unbelieving  depart,  let  him  depart.  A  brother  or 
a  sister  is  not  under  bondage  in  such  cases  "  (1  Cor.  vii.  15). 
Here  the  Apostle  permits  that  the  unbelieving  one  who 
departs  should  be  let  go,  and  leaves  it  free  to  the  believer 
to  take  another.  Why  should  not  the  same  rule  hold  good, 
if  a  believer,  that  is,  a  nominal  believer,  but  in  reality  just 
as  much  an  unbeliever,  deserts  husband  or  wife,  especially 
if  with  the  intention  of  never  returning  ?  I  cannot  discover 
any  distinction  between  the  two  cases.  In  my  belief,  how- 
ever, if  in  the  Apostle's  time  the  unbeliever  who  had  departed 
had  returned,  or  had  become  a  believer,  or  had  promised 
to  live  with  the  believing  wife,  he  would  not  have  been 
received,  but  would  himself  have  been  authorised  to  marry 
another  woman.  Still,  I  give  no  definite  opinion  on  these 
questions,  though  I  greatly  wish  that  a  definite  rule  were  laid 
down,  for  there  is  nothing  which  more  harasses  me  and  many 
others.  I  would  not  have  any  rule  on  this  point  laid  down  by 
the  sole  authority  of  the  Pope  or  the  bishops  ;  but  if  any  two 
learned  and  good  men  agreed  together  in  the  name  of  Christ, 
and  pronounced  a  decision  in  the  spirit  of  Christ,  I  should 
prefer  their  judgment  even  to  that  of  councils,  such  as  are 
assembled  nowadays,  which  are  celebrated  simply  for  their 
number  and  authority,  independently  of  learning  and  holiness. 
I  therefore  suspend  my  utterances  on  this  subject,  until  I  can 
confer  with  some  better  judge. 


OF  OEDERS. 

Of  this  sacrament  the  Church  of  Christ  knows  nothing ;  it 
was  invented  by  the  church  of  the  Pope.  It  not  only  has 
no  promise  of  grace,  anywhere  declared,  but  not  a  word  is 
said  about  it  in  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament.  Now  it  is 
ridiculous  to  set  up  as  a  sacrament  of  God  that  which  can 
nowhere  be  proved  to  have  been  instituted  by  God.  Not  that 
:  I  consider  that  a  rite  practised  for  so  many  ages  is  to  be 
!  condemned  ;  but  I  would  not  have  human  inventions  established 

Q 


228  LUTHER'S    PRIMARY    WORKS 

in  sacred  things,  nor  should  it  be  allowed  to  bring  in  anything 
as  divinely  ordained,  which  has  not  been  divinely  ordained ; 
lest  we  should  be  objects  of  ridicule  to  our  adversaries.  We 
must  endeavour  that  whatever  we  put  forward  as  an  article  of 
the  faith  should  be  certain  and  uncorrupt  and  established  by 
clear  proofs  from  Scripture ;  and  this  we  cannot  show  even  in 
the  slightest  degree  in  the  case  of  the  present  sacrament. 

The  Church  has  no  power  to  establish  new  divine  promises 
I  of  grace,  as  some  senselessly  assert,  who  say  that,  since  the 
Church  is  governed  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  whatever  she  ordains 
;  has  no  less  authority  than  that  which  is  ordained  of  God. 
The  Church  is  born  of  the  word  of  promise  through  faith,  and 
is  nourished  and  preserved  by  the  same  word  ;  that  is,  she  herself 
is  established  by  the  promises  of  God,  not  the  promise  of  God  by 
her.  The  word  of  God  is  incomparably  above  the  Church,  and 
her  part  is  not  to  establish,  ordain,  or  make  anything  in  it,  but 
only  to  be  established,  ordained,  and  made,  as  a  creature.  What 
man  begets  his  own  parent  ?  Who  establishes  the  authority  by 
which  he  himself  exists  ? 

This  power  the  Church  certainly  has — that  she  can  dis- 
tinguish the  word  of  God  from  the  words  of  men.  So  Augus- 
tine confesses  that  his  motive  for  believing  the  gospel  was  the 
authority  of  the  Church,  which  declared  it  to  be  the  gospel. 
Not  that  the  Church  is  therefore  above  the  gospel ;  for,  if  so, 
she  would  also  be  above  God,  in  whom  we  believe,  since  she 
declares  Him  to  be  God ;  but,  as  Augustine  says  elsewhere, 
the  soul  is  so  taken  possession  of  by  the  truth,  that  thereby 
it  can  judge  of  all  things  with  the  utmost  certainty,  and  yet 
cannot  judge  the  truth  itself,  but  is  compelled  by  an  infallible 
certainty  to  say  that  this  is  the  truth.  For  example,  the  mind 
pronounces  with  infallible  certainty  that  three  and  seven  are  ten, 
and  yet  can  give  no  reason  why  this  is  true,  while  it  cannot  deny 
that  it  is  true.  In  fact  the  mind  itself  is  taken  possession  of, 
and,  having  truth  as  its  judge,  is  judged  rather  than  judges. 
Even  such  a  perception  is  there  in  the  Church,  by  the  illumina- 
tion of  the  Spirit,  in  judging  and  approving  of  doctrines ;  a 
perception  which  she  cannot  demonstrate,  but  which  she  holds 
as  most  sure.  Just  as  among  philosophers  no  one  judges 
of  those  conceptions  which  are  common  to  all,  but  everyone 
is  judged  by  them,  so  is   it  among  us  with   regard   to  that 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  229 

spiritual  perception  which  judgeth  all  things,  yet  is  judged 
of  no  man,  as  the  Apostle  says. 

Let  us  take  it  then  for  certain  that  the  Church  cannot 
promise  grace,  to  do  which  is  the  part  of  God  alone,  and 
therefore  cannot  institute  a  sacrament.  And  even,  if  she  had 
the  most  complete  power  to  do  so,  it  would  not  forthwith 
follow,  that  orders  are  a  sacrament.  For  who  knows  what  is 
that  Church  which  has  the  Spirit,  when  only  a  few  bishops  and 
learned  men  are  usually  concerned  in  setting  up  these  laws 
and  institutions  ?  It  is  possible  that  these  men  may  not  be  of 
the  Church,  and  may  all  be  in  error ;  as  councils  have  very 
often  been  in  error,  especially  that  of  Constance,  which  has 
erred"  the  most  impiously  of  all.  That  only  is  a  proved  article 
of  the  faith  which  has  been  approved  by  the  universal  Church, 
and  not  by  that  of  Eome  alone.  I  grant  therefore  that  orders 
may  be  a  sort  of  church  rite,  like  many  others  which  have  been 
introduced  by  the  Fathers  of  the  Church,  such  as  the  consecra- 
tion of  vessels,  buildings,  vestments,  water,  salt,  candles,  herbs, 
wine,  and  the  like.  In  all  these  no  one  asserts  that  there  is 
any  sacrament,  nor  is  there  any  promise  in  them.  Thus  the 
anointing  of  a  man's  hands,  the  shaving  of  his  head,  and  other 
ceremonies  of  the  kind,  do  not  constitute  a  sacrament,  since 
nothing  is  promised  by  these  things,  but  they  are  merely 
employed  to  prepare  men  for  certain  offices,  as  in  the  case  of 
vessels  or  instruments. 

But  it  will  be  asked  :  What  do  you  say  to  Dionysius,  who 
reckons  up  six  sacraments,  among  which  he  places  Orders,  in 
his  Hierarchy  of  the  Church?  My  answer  is  :  I  know  that  he 
is  the  only  one  of  the  ancient  authorities  who  is  considered 
as  holding  seven  sacraments,  although,  by  the  omission  of 
matrimony,  he  has  only  given  six.  We  read  nothing  at  all  in 
the  rest  of  the  Fathers  about  these  sacraments,  nor  did  they 
reckon  them  under  the  title  of  sacrament,  when  they  spoke  of 
these  things,  for  the  invention  of  such  sacraments  is  a  modern 
one.  Then  too — if  I  may  be  rash  enough  to  say  so — it  is 
altogether  unsatisfactory  that  so  much  importance  should  be 
attributed  to  this  Dionysius,  whoever  he  was,  for  there  is 
almost  nothing  of  solid  learning  in  him.  By  what  authority  or 
reason,  I  ask,  does  he  prove  his  inventions  concerning  angels  in 
his  Celestial  Hierarchy,  a  book  on  the  study  of  which  curious 

Q  2 


230  LUTHER'S    PRIMARY   WORKS 

and  superstitious  minds  have  spent  so  much  labour  ?  Are 
they  not  all  fancies  of  his  own,  and  very  much  like  dreams,  if 
we  read  them  and  judge  them  freely  ?  In  his  mystic  theology 
indeed,  which  is  so  much  cried  up  by  certain  very  ignorant 
theologians,  he  is  even  very  mischievous,  and  follows  Plato 
rather  than  Christ,  so  that  I  would  not  have  any  believing 
mind  bestow  even  the  slightest  labour  on  the  study  of  these 
books.  You  will  be  so  far  from  learning  Christ  in  them  that, 
even  if  you  know  Him,  you  may  lose  Him.  I  speak  from  ex- 
perience. Let  us  rather  hear  Paul,  and  learn  Jesus  Christ  and 
Him  crucified.  For  this  is  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life  ; 
this  is  the  ladder  by  which  we  come  to  the  Father,  as  it  is 
written :  "  No  man  cometh  unto  the  Father,  but  by  Me." 

So  in  his  Hierarchy  of  the  Church,  what  does  he  do  but 
describe  certain  ecclesiastical  rites,  amusing  himself  with  his 
own  allegories,  which  he  does  not  prove,  just  as  has  been  done 
in  our  time  by  the  writer  of  the  book  called  the  Bationale  of 
Divine  things  ?  This  pursuit  of  allegories  is  only  fit  for  men 
of  idle  minds.  Could  I  have  any  difficulty  in  amusing  myself 
with  allegories  about  any  created  thing  whatever?  Did  not 
Bonaventura  apply  the  liberal  arts  allegorically  to  theology  ? 
It  would  give  me  no  trouble  to  write  a  better  Hierarchy  than 
that  of  Dionysius,  as  he  knew  nothing  of  popes,  cardinals,  and 
archbishops,  and  made  the  bishops  the  highest  order.  Who, 
indeed,  is  there  of  such  slender  wits  that  he  cannot  venture 
upon  allegory  ?  I  would  not  have  a  theologian  bestow  any  atten- 
tion upon  allegories,  until  he  is  perfectly  acquainted  with  the 
legitimate  and  simple  meaning  of  Scripture;  otherwise,  as  it 
happened  to  Origen,  his  theological  speculations  will  not  be 
without  danger. 

We  must  not  then  immediately  make  a  sacrament  of  any- 
thing which  Dionysius  describes  ;  otherwise  why  not  make  a 
sacrament  of  the  procession  which  he  describes  in  the  same 
passage,  and  which  continues  in  use  even  to  the  present  day? 
Nay,  there  will  be  as  many  sacraments  as  there  are  rites  and 
ceremonies  which  have  grown  up  in  the  Church.  Besting, 
however,  on  this  very  weak  foundation,  they  have  invented 
and  attributed  to  this  sacrament  of  theirs  certain  indelible 
characters,  supposed  to  be  impressed  on  those  who  receive 
orders.     Whence,  I  ask,  such  fancies  ?     By  what  authority,  by 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  231 

what  reasoning  are  they  established  ?  Not  that  we  object  to 
their  being  free  to  invent,  learn,  or  assert  whatever  they 
please ;  but  we  also  assert  our  own  liberty,  and  say  that  they 
must  not  arrogate  to  themselves  the  right  of  making  articles 
of  the  faith  out  of  their  own  fancies,  as  they  have  hitherto 
had  the  presumption  to  do.  It  is  enough  that,  for  the  sake  of 
concord,  we  submit  to  their  rights  and  inventions,  but  we  will  . 
not  be  compelled  to  receive  them  as  necessary  to  salvation, 
when  they  are  not  necessary.  Let  them  lay  aside  their 
tyrannical  requirements,  and  we  will  show  a  ready  compliance 
with  their  likings,  that  so  we  may  live  together  in  mutual 
peace.  For  it  is  a  disgraceful,  unjust,  and  slavish  thing  for  a 
Christian  man,  who  is  free,  to  be  subjected  to  any  but  heavenly 
and  divine  traditions. 

After  this  they  bring  in  their  very  strongest  argument, 
namely,  that  Christ  said  at  the  last  supper :  "  Do  this  in 
remembrance  of  me."  "  Behold  !  "  they  say,  "  Christ  ordained 
them  as  priests."  Hence,  among  other  things,  they  have  also 
asserted  that  it  is  to  priests  alone  that  both  kinds  should 
be  administered.  In  fact  they  have  extracted  out  of  this  text 
whatever  they  would ;  like  men  who  claim  the  right  to 
assert  at  their  own  free  choice  whatsoever  they  please  out 
of  any  words  of  Christ,  wherever  spoken.  But  is  this  to 
interpret  the  words  of  God  ?  Let  us  reply  to  them  that  in 
these  words  Christ  gives  no  promise,  but  only  a  command  that 
this  should  be  done  in  remembrance  of  Him.  Why  do  they  not 
conclude  that  priests  were  ordained  in  that  passage  also  where 
Christ,  in  laying  upon  them  the  ministry  of  the  word  and  of 
baptism,  said :  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the 
gospel  to  every  creature,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost "  ?  It  is  the 
peculiar  office  of  priests  to  preach  and  to  baptize.  Again, 
since  at  the  present  day  it  is  the  very  first  business  of  a  priest, 
and,  as  they  say,  an  indispensable  one,  to  read  the  canonical 
Hours  ;  why  have  they  not  taken  their  idea  of  the  sacrament 
of  orders  from  those  words  in  which  Christ  commanded  His 
disciples— as  he  did  in  many  other  places,  but  especially 
in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane — to  pray  that  they  might  not 
enter  into  temptation  ?  Unless  indeed  they  evade  the  difficulty 
by  saying  that  it  is  not  commanded  to  pray,  for  it  suffices  to 


232  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

read  the  canonical  Hours ;  so  that  this  cannot  be  proved  to  be  a 
priestly  work  from  any  part  of  Scripture,  and  that  consequently 
this  praying  priesthood  is  not  of  God ;  as  indeed  it  is  not. 

Which  of  the  ancient  Fathers  has  asserted  that  by  these 
words  priests  were  ordained  ?  Whence  then  this  new  interpre- 
tation ?  It  is  because  it  has  been  sought  by  this  device  to  set 
up  a  source  of  implacable  discord,  by  which  clergy  and  laity 
might  be  placed  farther  asunder  than  heaven  and  earth,  to  the 
incredible  injury  of  baptismal  grace  and  confusion  of  evangeli- 
cal communion.  Hence  has  originated  that  detestable  tyranny 
of  the  clergy  over  the  laity,  in  which,  trusting  to  the  corporal 
unction  by  which  their  hands  are  consecrated,  to  their  tonsure, 
and  to  their  vestments,  they  not  only  set  themselves  above  the 
body  of  lay  Christians,  who  have  been  anointed  with  the  Holy 
Spirit,  but  almost  look  upon  them  as  dogs,  unworthy  to  be 
numbered  in  the  Church  along  with  themselves.  Hence  it  is 
that  they  dare  to  command,  exact,  threaten,  drive,  and  oppress, 
at  their  will.  In  fine,  the  sacrament  of  orders  has  been  and  is 
a  most  admirable  engine  for  the  establishment  of  all  those 
monstrous  evils  which  have  hitherto  been  wrought,  and  are 
yet  being  wrought,  in  the  Church.  In  this  way  Christian 
brotherhood  has  perished;  in  this  way  shepherds  have  been 
turned  into  wolves,  servants  into  tyrants,  and  ecclesiastics  into 
more  than  earthly  beings. 

How  if  they  were  compelled  to  admit  that  we  all,  so  many 
as  have  been  baptized,  are  equally  priests  ?  We  are  so  in  fact, 
and  it  is  only  a  ministry  which  has  been  entrusted  to  them,  and 
that  with  our  consent.  They  would  then  know  that  they  have 
no  right  to  exercise  command  over  us,  except  so  far  as  we 
voluntarily  allow  of  it.  Thus  it  is  said :  "  Ye  are  a  chosen 
generation,  a  royal  priesthood,  a  holy  nation."  (1  Pet.  ii.  9.) 
Thus  all  we  who  are  Christians  are  priests ;  those  whom  we 
call  priests  are  ministers  chosen  from  among  us  to  do  all 
things  in  our  name ;  and  the  priesthood  is  nothing  else  than  a 
ministry.  Thus  Paul  says  :  "  Let  a  man  so  account  of  us  as  of 
the  ministers  of  Christ,  and  stewards  of  the  mysteries  of  God." 
(1  Cor.  iv.  1.) 

From  this  it  follows  that  he  who  does  not  preach  the 
word,  being  called  to  this  very  office  by  the  Church,  is  in 
no  way  a  priest,   and  that    the  sacrament   of  orders   can   be 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVTTY  233 

nothing  else  than  a  ceremony  for  choosing  preachers  in  the 
Church.  This  is  the  description  given  of  a  priest :  "  The 
priest's  lips  should  keep  knowledge,  and  they  should  seek  the 
law  at  his  mouth ;  for  he  is  the  messenger  of  the  Lord  of 
hosts."  (Malachi  ii.  7.)  Be  sure  then  that  he  who  is  not  a 
messenger  of  the  Lord  of  hosts,  or  who  is  called  to  anything 
else  than  a  messengership — if  I  may  so  speak — is  certainly 
not  a  priest ;  as  it  is  written  :  "  Because  thou  hast  rejected 
knowledge,  I  will  also  reject  thee,  that  thou  shalt  be  no  priest 
to  me."  (Hosea  iv.  6.)  They  are  called  pastors  because  it  is 
their  duty  to  give  the  people  pasture,  that  is,  to  teach  them. 
Therefore  those  who  are  ordained  only  for  the  purpose  of 
reading  the  canonical  Hours  and  offering  up  masses  are  popish 
priests  indeed,  but  not  Christian  priests,  since  they  not  only  do 
not  preach  but  are  not  even  called  to  be  preachers ;  nay,  it  is 
the  very  thing  intended,  that  a  priesthood  of  this  kind  shall 
stand  on  a  different  footing  from  the  office  of  preacher.  Thus 
they  are  priests  of  Hours  and  missals,  that  is,  a  kind  of  living 
images,  having  the  name  of  priests,  but  very  far  from  being 
really  so ;  such  priests  as  those  whom  Jeroboam  ordained  in 
Beth-aven,  taken  from  the  lowest  dregs  of  the  people,  and  not 
from  the  family  of  Levi. 

See  then  how  far  the  glory  of  the  Church  has  departed.    The   / 

^      whole  world  is  full  of  priests,  bishops,  cardinals,  and  clergy  ;  of  ; 

^  whom  however,  (so  far  as  concerns  their  official  duty)  not  one  I 
preaches — unless  he  be  called  afresh  to  this  by  another  calling 
besides  his  sacramental  orders — but  thinks  that  he  amply  fulfils 
the  purposes  of  that  sacrament  if  he  murmurs  over,  in  a  vain 
repetition,  the  prayers  which  he  has  to  read,  and  celebrates  masses. 
Even  then,  he  never  prays  these  very  Hours,  or,  if  he  does  pray, 
he  prays  for  himself ;  while,  as  the  very  height  of  perversity,  he 
offers  up  his  masses  as  a  sacrifice,  though  the  mass  is  really  the 
use  of  the  sacrament.  Thus  it  is  clear  that  those  orders  by 
which,  as  a  sacrament,  men  of  this  kind  are  ordained  to  be  clergy, 
are  in  truth  a  mere  and  entire  figment,  invented  by  men  who 
understand  nothing  of  church  affairs,  of  the  priesthood,  of  the 
ministry  of  the  word,  or  of  the  sacraments.  Such  as  is  the  sacra- 
ment, such  are  the  priests  it  makes.  To  these  errors  and  blind- 
nesses has  been  added  a  greater  degree  of  bondage,  in  that,  in 
order  to  separate  themselves  the  more  widely  from  all  other 


234  LUTHER'S   PRIMAKY    WORKS 

\ 

Christians,    as    if    these    were   profane,   they   have    burdened 

themselves  with  a  most  hypocritical  celibacy. 

It  was  not  enough  for  their  hypocrisy  and  for  the  working  of 
this  error  to  prohibit  bigamy,  that  is,  the  having  two  wives  at 
the  same  time,  as  was  done  under  the  law — for  we  know  that 
that  is  the  meaning  of  bigamy — but  they  have  interpreted  it  to 
be  bigamy,  if  a  man  marries  two  virgins  in  succession,  or  a  widow 
once.  Nay,  the  most  sanctified  sanctity  of  this  most  sacrosanct 
sacrament  goes  so  far,  that  a  man  cannot  even  become  a  priest 
if  he  have  married  a  virgin,  as  long  as  she  is  alive  as  his  wife. 
And,  in  order  to  reach  the  very  highest  summit  of  sanctity,  a 
man  is  kept  out  of  the  priesthood,  if  he  have  married  one  who 
was  not  a  pure  virgin,  though  it  were  in  ignorance  and  merely 
by  an  unfortunate  chance.  But  he  may  have  polluted  six 
hundred  harlots,  or  corrupted  any  number  of  matrons  or  virgins, 
or  even  kept  many  Ganymedes,  and  it  will  be  no  impediment 
to  his  becoming  a  bishop  or  cardinal,  or  even  Pope.  Then  the 
saying  of  the  Apostle :  "  the  husband  of  one  wife,"  must  be 
interpreted  to  mean :  "  the  head  of  one  church ;  "  unless  that 
magnificent  dispenser  the  Pope,  bribed  with  money  or  led  by 
favour — that  is  to  say,  moved  by  pious  charity,  and  urged  by 
anxiety  for  the  welfare  of  the  churches — chooses  to  unite  to 
one  man  three,  twenty,  or  a  hundred  wives,  that  is,  churches. 

0  pontiffs,  worthy  of  this  venerable  sacrament  of  orders  !  0 
princes  not  of  the  Catholic  churches,  but  of  the  synagogues  of 
Satan,  yea,  of  very  darkness !  We  may  well  cry  out  with 
Isaiah :  "  Ye  scornful  men,  that  rule  this  people  which  is  in 
Jerusalem"  (Isaiah  xxviii.  14) ;  and  with  Amos :  "  Woe  to 
them  that  are  at  ease  in  Zion,  and  trust  in  the  mountain  of 
Samaria,  which  are  named  chief  of  the  nations,  to  whom  the 
house  of  Israel  came  !  "  (Amos  vi.  1.)  0  what  disgrace  to  the 
Church  of  God  from  these  monstrosities  of  sacerdotalism ! 
iWhere  are  there  any  bishops  or  priests  who  know  the  gospel, 
not  to  say  preach  it  ?  Why  then  do  they  boast  of  their 
priesthood  ?  why  do  they  wish  to  be  thought  holier  and  better 
and  more  powerful  than  other  Christians,  whom  they  call  the 
laity?  What  unlearned  person  is  not  competent  to  read  the 
Hours  ?  Monks,  hermits,  and  private  persons,  although  laymen, 
may  use  the  prayers  of  the  Hours.  The  duty  of  a  priest  is  to 
preach,  and  unless  he  does  so,  he  is  just  as  much  a  priest  as 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  235 

the  picture  of  a  man  is  a  man.  Does  the  ordination  of  such 
babbling  priests,  the  consecration  of  churches  and  bells,  or  the 
confirmation  of  children,  constitute  a  bishop  ?  Could  not  any 
deacon  or  layman  do  these  things  ?  It  is  the  ministry  of  the 
word  that  makes  a  priest  or  a  bishop. 

Fly  then,  I  counsel  you ;  fly,  young  men,  if  ye  wish  to  live 
in  safety ;  and  do  not  seek  admission  to  these  holy  rites,  unless 
ye  are  either  willing  to  preach  the  gospel,  or  are  able  to 
believe  that  ye  are  not  made  any  better  than  the  laity  by  this 
sacrament  of  orders.  To  read  the  Hours  is  nothing.  To  offer 
the  mass  is  to  receive  the  sacrament.  What  then  remains  in 
you,  which  is  not  to  be  found  in  any  layman  ?  Your  tonsure 
and  your  vestments  ?  Wretched  priesthood,  which  consists  in 
tonsure  and  vestments  !  Is  it  the  oil  poured  on  your  fingers  ? 
Every  Christian  is  anointed  and  sanctified  in  body  and  soul 
with  the  oil  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  formerly  was  allowed  to 
handle  the  sacrament  no  less  than  the  priests  now  do ;  although 
our  superstition  now  imputes  it  as  a  great  crime  to  the  laity,  if 
they  touch  even  the  bare  cup,  or  the  corporal ;  and  not  even  a 
holy  nun  is  allowed  to  wash  the  altar  cloths  and  sacred 
napkins.  When  I  see  how  far  the  sacrosanct  sanctity  of  these 
orders  has  already  gone,  I  expect  that  the  time  will  come  when 
the  laity  will  not  even  be  allowed  to  touch  the  altar,  except 
when  they  offer  money.  I  almost  burst  with  anger  when  I 
think  of  the  impious  tyrannies  of  these  reckless  men,  who 
mock  and  ruin  the  liberty  and  glory  of  the  religion  of  Christ 
by  such  frivolous  and  puerile  triflings. 

Let  every  man  then  who  has  learnt  that  he  is  a  Christian 
recognise  what  he  is,  and  be  certain  that  we  are  all  equally 
priests ;  that  is,  that  we  have  the  same  power  in  the  word,  and 
in  any  sacrament  whatever ;  although  it  is  not  lawful  for  any 
one  to  use  this  power,  except  with  the  consent  of  the  com- 
munity, or  at  the  call  of  a  superior.  For  that  which  belongs 
to  all  in  common  no  individual  can  arrogate  to  himself,  until 
he  be  called.  And  therefore  the  sacrament  of  orders,  if  it  is 
anything,  is  nothing  but  a  certain  rite  by  which  men  are  called 
to  minister  in  the  Church.  Furthermore,  the  priesthood  is 
properly  nothing  else  than  the  ministry  of  the  word — I  mean 
the  word  of  the  gospel,  not  of  the  law.  The  diaconate  is  a 
ministry,  not   for   reading  the   gospel  or  the  epistle,  as  the 


236  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

practice  is  nowadays,  but  for  distributing  the  wealth  of  the 
Church  among  the  poor,  that  the  priests  may  be  relieved  of  the 
burden  of  temporal  things,  and  may  give  themselves  more 
freely  to  prayer  and  to  the  word.  It  was  for  this  purpose,  as 
we  read  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  that  deacons  were 
appointed.  Thus  he  who  does  not  know  the  gospel,  or  does 
not  preach  it,  is  not  only  no  priest  or  bishop,  but  a  kind  of 
pest  to  the  Church,  who,  under  the  false  title  of  priest  or 
bishop,  as  it  were  in  sheep's  clothing,  hinders  the  gospel,  and 
acts  the  part  of  the  wolf  in  the  Church. 

Wherefore  those  priests  and  bishops  with  whom  the  Church 
is  crowded  at  the  present  day,  unless  they  work  out  their 
salvation  on  another  plan — that  is,  unless  they  acknowledge 
themselves  to  be  neither  priests  nor  bishops,  and  repent  of 
bearing  the  name  of  an  office  the  work  of  which  they  either 
do  not  know,  or  cannot  fulfil,  and  thus  deplore  with  prayers 
and  tears  the  miserable  fate  of  their  hypocrisy — are  verily 
the  people  of  eternal  perdition,  concerning  whom  the  saying 
will  be  fulfilled :  "  My  people  are  gone  into  captivity, 
because  they  have  no  knowledge ;  and  their  honourable  men 
are  famished,  and  their  multitude  dried  up  with  thirst. 
Therefore  hell  hath  enlarged  herself,  and  opened  her  mouth 
without  measure ;  and  their  glory,  and  their  multitude,  and 
their  pomp,  and  he  that  rejoiceth,  shall  descend  into  it." 
(Isaiah  v.  13,  14.)  0  word  of  dread  for  our  age,  in  which 
Christians  are  swallowed  up  in  such  an  abyss  of  evil ! 

As  far  then  as  we  are  taught  from  the  Scriptures,  since  what 
we  call  the  priesthood  is  a  ministry,  I  do  not  see  at  all  for  what 
reason  a  man  who  has  once  been  made  priest  cannot  become  a 
layman  again,  since  he  differs  in  no  wise  from  a  layman, 
except  by  his  ministerial  office.  But  it  is  so  far  from  im- 
possible for  a  man  to  be  set  aside  from  the  ministry,  that  even 
now  this  punishment  is  constantly  inflicted  on  offending  priests, 
who  are  either  suspended  for  a  time,  or  deprived  for  ever  of 
their  office.  For  that  fiction  of  an  indelible  character  has  long 
ago  become  an  object  of  derision.  I  grant  that  the  Pope  may 
impress  this  character,  though  Christ  knows  nothing  of  it,  and 
for  this  very  reason  the  priest  thus  consecrated  is  the  lifelong 
servant  and  bondsman,  not  of  Christ,  but  of  the  Pope,  as  it  is 
at  this  day.     But,  unless  I  deceive  myself,  if  at  some  future 


THE    BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  237 

time  this  sacrament  and  figment  fall  to  the  ground,  the  Papacy 
itself  will  scarcely  hold  its  ground,  and  we  shall  recover  that 
joyful  liberty  in  which  we  shall  understand  that  we  are  all 
equal  in  every  right,  and  shall  shake  off  the  yoke  of  tyranny 
and  know  that  he  who  is  a  Christian  has  Christ,  and  he  who 
has  Christ  has  all  things  that  are  Christ's,  and  can  do  all 
things — on  which  I  will  write  more  fully  and  more  vigorously 
when  I  find  that  what  I  have  here  said  displeases  my  friends 
the  papists. 


ON  THE  SACRAMENT  OF  EXTREME  UNCTION. 

To  this  rite  of  anointing  the  sick  our  theologians  have  made 
two  additions  well  worthy  of  themselves.  One  is,  that  they  call 
it  a  sacrament ;  the  other,  that  they  make  it  extreme,  so  that 
it  cannot  be  administered  except  to  those  who  are  in  extreme 
peril  of  life.  Perhaps — as  they  are  keen  dialecticians — they 
have  so  made  it  in  relation  to  the  first  unction  of  baptism, 
and  the  two  following  ones  of  confirmation  and  orders.  They 
have  this,  it  is  true,  to  throw  in  my  teeth,  that,  on  the  authority 
of  the  Apostle  James,  there  are  in  this  case  a  promise  and  a 
sign,  which  two  things,  I  have  hitherto  said,  constitute  a 
sacrament.  He  says :  "  Is  any  sick  among  you  ?  let  him  call 
for  the  elders  of  the  church,  and  let  them  pray  over  him, 
anointing  him  with  oil  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  ;  and  the 
prayer  of  faith  shall  save  the  sick,  and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him 
up ;  and  if  he  have  committed  sins,  they  shall  be  forgiven 
him."  (James  v.  14,  15.)  Here,  they  say,  is  the  promise  of 
remission  of  sins,  and  the  sign  of  the  oil. 

I,  however,  say  that  if  folly  has  ever  been  uttered,  it  has 
been  uttered  on  this  subject.  I  pass  over  the  fact  that  many 
assert,  and  with  great  probability,  that  this  epistle  was  not 
written  by  the  Apostle  James,  and  is  not  worthy  of  the 
apostolic  spirit ;  although,  whosesoever  it  is,  it  has  obtained 
authority  by  usage.  Still,  even  if  it  were  written  by  the 
Apostle  James,  I  should  say  that  it  was  not  lawful  for  an 
apostle  to  institute  a  sacrament  by  his  own  authority ;  that  is, 
to  give  a  divine  promise  with  a  sign  annexed  to  it.     To  do  this 


238  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

belonged  to  Christ  alone.  Thus  Paul  says  that  he  had  received 
the  sacrament  of  the  Eucharist  from  the  Lord ;  and  that  he 
was  sent,  not  to  baptize,  but  to  preach  the  gospel.  Nowhere, 
however,  in  the  gospel  do  we  read  of  this  sacrament  of  extreme 
unction.  But  let  us  pass  this  over,  and  let  us  look  to  the 
words  themselves  of  the  Apostle,  or  of  whoever  was  the  author 
of  this  Epistle,  and  we  shall  at  once  see  how  those  men  have 
failed  to  observe  their  true  meaning,  who  have  thus  increased 
the  number  of  sacraments. 

In  the  first  place — if  they  think  the  saying  of  the  Apostle 
true  and  worthy  to  be  followed,  by  what  authority  do  they 
change  and  resist  it?  "Why  do  they  make  an  extreme  and 
special  unction  of  that  which  the  Apostle  meant  to  be  general  ? 
The  Apostle  did  not  mean  it  to  be  extreme,  and  to  be  ad- 
ministered only  to  those  about  to  die.  He  says  expressly  :  "Is 
any  sick  among  you  ?  "  He  does  not  say  :  '"  Is  any  dying  ? 
Nor  do  I  care  what  Dionysius's  Ecclesiastical  Hierarchy  may 
teach  about  this  ;  the  words  of  the  Apostle  are  clear,  on  which 
he  and  they  alike  rest,  though  they  do  not  follow  them.  Thus 
it  is  evident  that,  by  no  authority,  but  at  their  own  discretion, 
they  have  made,  out  of  the  ill-understood  words  of  the  Apostle, 
a  sacrament  and  an  extreme  unction ;  thus  wronging  all  the 
other  sick,  whom  they  have  deprived  on  their  own  authority 
of  that  benefit  of  anointing  which  the  Apostle  appointed  for 
them. 

But  it  is  even  a  finer  argument,  that  the  promise  of  the 
Apostle  expressly  says  :  "  The  prayer  of  faith  shall  save  the 
sick,  and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him  up."  The  Apostle  commands 
the  use  of  anointing  and  prayer  for  the  very  purpose  that  the 
sick  man  may  be  healed  and  raised  up,  that  is,  may  not  die,  and 
that  the  unction  may  not  be  extreme.  This  is  proved  by  the 
prayers  which  are  used  even  at  this  day  during  the  ceremony 
of  anointing,  and  in  which  we  ask  that  the  sick  man  may  be 
restored.  They  say,  on  the  contrary,  that  unction  should  not 
be  administered  except  to  those  on  the  point  of  departing ;. 
that  is,  that  they  may  not  be  healed  and  raised  up.  If  the 
matter  were  not  so  serious,  who  could  refrain  from  laughing  at 
such  fine,  apt,  and  sound  comments  on  the  words  of  the  Apostle  ? 
Do  we  not  manifestly  detect  here  that  sophistical  folly  which, 
in  many  other  cases  as  well  as  in  this,  affirms  what  Scripture 


THE    BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  239 

denies,  and  denies  what  it  affirms  ?  Shall  we  not  render  thanks 
to  these  distinguished  teachers  of  ours?  I  have  said  rightly 
then,  that  nowhere  have  they  displayed  wilder  folly  than  in 
this  instance. 

Further  — if  this  unction  is  a  sacrament,  it  must  be  beyond 
doubt  an  effectual  sign  (as  they  say)  of  that  which  it  seals  and 
promises.  Now  it  promises  health  and  restoration  to  the  sick, 
as  the  words  plainly  show  :  "  The  prayer  of  faith  shall  save  the 
sick,  and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him  up."  Who  does  not  see, 
however,  that  this  promise  is  seldom,  or  rather  never  fulfilled  ? 
Scarcely  one  among  a  thousand  is  restored ;  and  even  this  no 
one  believes  to  be  effected  by  the  sacrament,  but  by  the  help  of 
nature  or  of  medicine  ;  while  to  the  sacrament  they  attribute 
a  contrary  effect.  What  shall  we  say  then?  Either  the 
Apostle  is  deceiving  us  in  this  promise,  or  this  unction  is  not 
a  sacrament ;  for  a  sacramental  promise  is  sure,  while  this  in 
most  cases  disappoints  us.  Nay — to  recognise  another  example 
of  the  prudence  and  carefulness  of  these  theologians — they  will 
have  it  to  be  extreme  unction  in  order  that  that  promise  may 
not  stand ;  that  is,  that  the  sacrament  may  not  be  a  sacrament. 
If  the  unction  is  extreme,  it  does  not  heal,  but  yields  to  the 
sickness ;  while  if  it  heals,  it  cannot  be  extreme.  Thus, 
according  to  the  interpretation  of  these  teachers,  James  must 
be  understood  to  have  contradicted  himself,  and  to  have  insti- 
tuted a  sacrament,  on  purpose  not  to  institute  a  sacrament ; 
for  they  will  have  it  to  be  extreme  unction,  in  order  that  it 
may  not  be  true  that  the  sick  are  healed  by  it,  which  is 
what  the  Apostle  ordained.  If  this  is  not  madness,  what,  I  ask, 
is  madness  ? 

The  words  of  the  Apostle  :  "  Desiring  to  be  teachers  of  the 
law ;  understanding  neither  what  they  say,  nor  whereof  they 
affirm"  (1  Tim.  i.  7.),  apply  to  these  men;  with  so  little 
judgment  do  they  read  and  draw  conclusions.  With  the  same 
stupidity  they  have  inferred  the  doctrine  of  auricular  confession 
from  the  words  of  the  Apostle  James  :  "  Confess  your  faults 
one  to  another."  They  do  not  even  observe  the  command  of 
the  Apostle,  that  the  elders  of  the  Church  should  be  called  for, 
and  that  they  should  pray  over  the  sick.  Scarcely  one  priest 
is  sent  now,  though  the  Apostle  would  have  many  to  be  present, 
not  for  the  purpose  of  anointing,  but  for  that  of  prayer ;  as  he 


240  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY   WORKS 

says  :  "  The  prayer  of  faith  shall  save  the  sick."  Moreover,  I 
am  not  sure  that  he  means  priests  to  be  understood  in  this  case, 
since  he  says  elders,  that  is,  seniors  in  age.  Now  it  does  not 
follow  that  an  elder  must  be  a  priest  or  a  minister,  and  we  may 
suspect  that  the  Apostle  intended  that  the  sick  should  be 
visited  by  the  men  of  greater  age  and  weightier  character  in 
the  Church,  who  should  do  this  as  a  work  of  mercy,  and  heal 
the  sick  by  the  prayer  of  faith.  At  the  same  time  it  cannot 
be  denied,  that  of  old  the  churches  were  ruled  by  the  older 
men,  chosen  for  this  purpose  on  account  of  their  age  and  long 
experience  of  life,  without  the  ordinations  and  consecrations 
now  used. 

I  am  therefore  of  opinion  that  this  is  the  same  anointing  as 
that  used  by  the  Apostles,  of  whom  it  is  written  :  "  They 
anointed  with  oil  many  that  were  sick,  and  healed  them."  (Mark 
vi.  13.)  It  was  a  rite  of  the  primitive  Church,  long  since 
obsolete,  by  which  they  did  miracles  for  the  sick  ;  just  as  Christ 
says  of  them  that  believe  :  "  They  shall  take  up  serpents  ;  they 
shall  lay  hands  on  the  sick,  and  they  shall  recover."  (Mark 
xvi.  18.)  It  is  astonishing  that  they  have  not  made  sacraments 
out  of  these  words  also ;  since  they  have  a  like  virtue  and 
promise  with  those  words  of  James.  This  pretended  extreme 
unction,  then,  is  not  a  sacrament,  but  a  counsel  of  the  Apostle 
James,  taken,  as  I  have  said,  from  the  Gospel  of  Mark ;  and  one 
which  any  one  who  will  may  follow.  I  do  not  think  that  it 
was  applied  to  all  sick  persons,  for  the  Church  glories  in  her 
infirmities,  and  thinks  death  a  gain  ;  but  only  to  those  who  bore 
their  sickness  impatiently  and  with  little  faith,  and  whom  the 
Lord  therefore  left,  that  on  them  the  miraculous  power  and  the 
efficacy  of  faith  might  be  conspicuously  shown. 

James,  indeed,  has  carefully  and  intentionally  provided  against 
this  very  mistake,  in  that  he  connects  the  promise  of  healing  and 
of  remission  of  sins,  not  with  the  anointing,  but  with  the  prayer 
of  faith  ;  for  he  says  :  "  The  prayer  of  faith  shall  save  the  sick, 
and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him  up ;  and  if  he  have  committed 
sins,  they  shall  be  forgiven  him."  (James  v.  15.)  Now  a 
sacrament  does  not  require  prayer  or  faith  on  the  part  of  him 
who  administers  it,  for  even  a  wicked  man  may  baptize 
and  consecrate  the  elements  without  prayer ;  but  it  rests  solely 
on  the  promise  and  institution  of  God,  and  requires  faith  on 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  241 

the  part  of  him  who  receives  it.  But  where  is  the  prayer 
-  of  faith  in  our  employment  of  extreme  unction  at  the  present 
day  ?  Who  prays  over  the  sick  man  with  such  faith  as  not 
to  doubt  of  his  restoration?  Such  is  the  prayer  of  faith 
which  James  here  describes ;  that  prayer  of  which  he  had 
said  at  the  beginning  of  the  epistle  :  "  Let  him  ask  in  faith, 
nothing  wavering ;  "  and  of  which  Christ  says  :  "  What  things 
soever  ye  desire,  when  ye  pray,  believe  that  ye  receive  them, 
and  ye  shall  have  them."  (Mark  xi.  24.) 

There  is  no  doubt  at  all  that,  if  even  at  the  present  day  such 
prayer  were  made  over  the  sick — that  is,  by  grave  and  holy 
elders,  and  with  full  faith — as  many  as  we  would  might  be 
healed.  For  what  cannot  faith  do  ?  We,  however,  leave  out  of 
sight  that  faith  which  apostolic  authority  requires  in  the  very 
first  place ;  and  moreover  by  elders,  that  is,  men  superior  to 
the  rest  in  age  and  in  faith,  we  understand  the  common  herd  of 
priests.  Furthermore,  out  of  a  daily  or  free  anointing  we  make 
an  extreme  unction  ;  and  lastly,  we  not  only  do  not  ask  and 
obtain  that  result  of  healing  promised  by  the  Apostle,  but  we 
empty  the  promise  of  its  meaning  by  an  opposite  result. 
Nevertheless  we  boast  that  this  sacrament,  or  rather  figment, 
of  ours,  is  founded  on  and  proved  by  the  teaching'of  the  Apostle, 
from  which  it  is  as  widely  separated  as  pole  from  pole.  Oh, 
what  theologians  ! 

Therefore,  without  condemning  this  our  sacrament  of  extreme 
unction,  I  steadily  deny  that  it  is  that  which  is  enjoined  by  the 
Apostle  James,  of  which  neither  the  form,  nor  the  practice, 
nor  the  efficacy,  nor  the  purpose,  agrees  with  ours.  We  will 
reckon  it,  however,  among  those  sacraments  which  are  of  our 
own  appointing,  such  as  the  consecration  and  sprinkling  of  salt 
and  water.  We  cannot  deny  that,  as  the  Apostle  Paul  teaches 
us,  every  creature  is  sanctified  by  the  word  of  God  and  prayer ; 
and  so  we  do  not  deny  that  remission  and  peace  are  bestowed 
through  extreme  unction  ;  not  because  it  is  a  sacrament  divinely 
instituted,  but  because  he  who  receives  it  believes  that  he 
obtains  these  benefits.  For  the  faith  of  the  receiver  does  not 
err,  however  much  the  minister  may  err.  For  if  he  who 
baptizes  or  absolves  in  jest — that  is,  does  not  absolve  at  all,  as 
far  as  the  minister's  part  is  concerned — yet  does  really  absolve 
or  baptize,  if  there  be  faith  on  the  part  of  the  absolved  or 


242  LUTHER'S    PRIMARY    WORKS 

baptized  person,  how  much  more  does  he  who  administers 
extreme  unction  bestow  peace;  even  though  in  reality  he 
bestows  no  peace,  if  we  look  to  his  ministry,  since  there  is  no 
sacrament.  The  faith  of  the  person  anointed  receives  that 
blessing  which  he  who  anointed  him  either  could  not,  or  did 
not  intend,  to  give.  It  is  enough  that  the  person  anointed  hears 
and  believes  the  word ;  for  whatever  we  believe  that  we  shall 
receive,  that  we  do  really  receive,  whatever  the  minister  may 
do  or  not  do,  whether  he  play  a  part,  or  be  in  jest.  For  the 
saying  of  Christ  holds  good :  "  All  things  are  possible  to  him 
that  believeth  ;  "  and  again  :  "  As  thou  hast  believed,  so  be  it 
done  unto  thee."  Our  sophists,  however,  make  no  mention  of 
this  faith  in  treating  of  the  sacraments,  but  give  their  whole 
minds  to  frivolous  discussions  on  the  virtues  of  the  sacraments 
themselves ;  ever  learning,  and  never  able  to  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth. 

It  has  been  of  advantage,  however,  that  this  unction  has  been 
made  extreme,  for,  thanks  to  this,  it  has  been  of  all  sacraments 
the  least  harassed  and  enslaved  by  tyranny  and  thirst  for  gain ; 
and  this  one  mercy  has  been  left  to  the  dying,  that  they  are 
free  to  be  anointed,  even  if  they  have  not  confessed  or  com- 
municated. Whereas  if  it  had  continued  to  be  of  daily  employ- 
ment, especially  if  it  had  also  healed  the  sick,  even  if  it  had 
not  taken  away  sins,  of  how  many  worlds  would  not  the  pontiffs 
by  this  time  have  been  masters — they  who,  on  the  strength  of 
the  one  sacrament  of  penance,  and  by  the  power  of  the  keys,  and 
through  the  sacrament  of  orders,  have  become  such  mighty 
emperors  and  princes  ?  But  now  it  is  a  fortunate  thing  that,  as 
they  despise  the  prayer  of  faith,  so  they  heal  no  sick,  and,  out 
of  an  old  rite,  have  formed  for  themselves  a  new  sacrament. 

Let  it  suffice  to  have  said  thus  much  concerning  these  four 
sacraments.  I  know  how  much  it  will  displease  those  who 
think  that  we  are  to  enquire  about  the  number  and  use  of 
the  sacraments,  not  from  the  holy  Scriptures,  but  from  the  See 
of  Kome  ;  as  if  the  See  of  Uome  had  given  us  those  sacraments, 
and  had  not  rather  received  them  from  the  schools  of  the 
Universities  ;  to  which,  without  controversy,  it  owes  all  that  it 
has.  The  tyranny  of  the  popes  would  never  have  stood  so  high 
if  it  had  not  received  so  much  help  from  the  Universities ;  for 
among  all  the  principal  sees,  there  is  scarcely  any  other  which 


THE   BABYLONISH   CAPTIVITY  243 

has  had  so  few  learned  bishops.  It  is  by  force,  fraud,  and 
superstition  alone  that  it  has  prevailed  over  the  rest ;  and  those 
who  occupied  that  see  a  thousand  years  ago  are  so  widely 
diverse  from  those  who  have  grown  into  power  in  the  interim, 
that  we  are  compelled  to  say  that  either  the  one  or  the  other 
were  not  pontiffs  of  Eome. 

There  are  besides  some  other  things,  which  it  may  seem  that 
'  we  might  reckon  among  sacraments — all  those  things,  namely, 
to  which  a  divine  promise  has  been  made,  such  as  prayer,  the 
word,  the  cross.  For  Christ  has  promised  in  many  places  to 
hear  those  that  pray  ;  especially  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of  the 
Gospel  of  St.  Luke,  where  he  invites  us  to  prayer  by  many 
parables.  Of  the  word  he  says  :  "  Blessed  are  they  that  hear 
the  word  of  God  and  keep  it."  (Luke  xi.  28.)  And  who 
can  reckon  up  how  often  he  promises  succour  and  glory  to 
those  who  are  in  tribulation,  suffering,  and  humiliation  ? 
Nay,  who  can  count  up  all  the  promises  of  God?  For  it  is 
the  whole  object  of  all  Scripture  to  lead  us  to  faith ;  on 
the  one  side  urging  us  with  commandments  and  threatenings, 
on  the  other  side  inviting  us  by  promises  and  consolations. 
Indeed  all  Scripture  consists  of  either  commandments  or 
promises.  Its  commandments  humble  the  proud  by  their 
requirements ;  its  promises  lift  up  the  humble  by  their  re- 
missions of  sin. 

It  has  seemed  best,  however,  to  consider  as  sacraments, 
properly  so  called,  those  promises  which  have  signs  annexed  to 
them.  The  rest,  as  they  are  not  attached  to  signs,  are  simple 
promises.  It  follows  that,  if  we  speak  with  perfect  accuracy; 
there  are  only  two  sacraments  in  the  Church  of  God,  Ba-ptiem 
andJlL&-JBread ;  since  it  is  in  these  alone  that  we  see  both  a 
sign  divinely  instituted  and  a  promise  of  remission  of  sins. 
The  sacrament  of  penance,  which  I  have  reckoned  along  with 
these  two,  is  without  any  visible  and  divinely  appointed  sign  ; 
and  is  nothing  else,  as  I  have  said,  than  a  way  and  means  of 
return  to  baptism.  Not  even  the  schoolmen  can  say  that 
penitence  agrees  with  their  definition  ;  since  they  themselves 
ascribe  to  every  sacrament  a  visible  sign,  which  enables  the 
senses  to  apprehend  the  form  of  that  effect  which  the  sacra- 
ment works  invisibly.  Now  penitence  or  absolution  has  no 
such  sign ;  and  therefore  they  will  be  compelled  by  their  own 

it 


244  LUTHER'S   PRIMARY    WORKS 

definition  either  to  say  that  penitence  is  not  one  of  the 
sacraments,  and  thus  to  diminish  their  number,  or  else  to  bring 
forward  another  definition  of  a  sacrament. 

Baptism,  however,  which  we  have  assigned  to  the  whole  of  life, 
will  properly  suffice  for  all  the  sacraments  which  we  are  to  use  in 
life ;  while  the  bread  is  truly  the  sacrament  of  the  dying  and 
departing,  since  in  it  we  commemorate  the  departure  of  Christ 
from  this  world,  that  we  may  imitate  Him.  Let  us  then  so 
distribute  these  two  sacraments  that  baptism  may  be  allotted 
to  the  beginning  and  to  the  whole  course  of  life,  and  the  bread 
to  its  end  and  to  death ;  and  let  the  Christian,  while  in  this 
vile  body,  exercise  himself  in  both,  until,  being  fully  baptized 
and  strengthened,  he  shall  pass  out  of  this  world,  as  one  born 
into  a  new  and  eternal  life,  and  destined  to  eat  with  Christ  in 
the  kingdom  of  his  Father,  as  he  promised  at  the  Last  Supper, 
saying :  "I  say  unto  you,  I  will  not  drink  of  the  fruit  of  the 
vine  until  the  kingdom  of  God  shall  come."  (Luke  xxii.  18.) 
Thus  it  is  evident  that  Christ  instituted  the  sacrament  of  the 
bread  that  we  might  receive  the  life  which  is  to  come ;  and 
then,  when  the  purpose  of  each  sacrament  shall  have  been 
fulfilled,  both  baptism  and  the  bread  will  cease. 
^  I  shall  here  make  an  end  of  this  essay,  which  I  readily  and 
joyfully  offer  to  all  pious  persons,  who  long  to  understand 
Scripture  in  its  sincere  meaning,  and  to  learn  the  genuine  use  of 
the  sacraments.  It  is  a  gift  of  no  slight  importance  to  "  know 
the  things  that  are  freely  given  to  us  of  God,"  and  to  know  in 
what  manner  we  ought  to  use  those  gifts.  For  if  we  are 
instructed  in  this  judgment  of  the  Spirit,  we  shall  not  deceive 
ourselves  by  leaning  on  those  things  which  are  opposed  to  it. 
Whereas  our  theologians  have  not  only  nowhere  given  us  the 
knowledge  of  these  two  things,  but  have  even  darkened  them,  as 
if  of  set  purpose,  I,  if  I  have  not  given  that  knowledge,  have 
at  least  succeeded  in  not  darkening  it,  and  have  given  others 
an  inducement  to  think  out  something  better.  It  has  at  least 
been  my  endeavour  to  explain  the  meaning  of  both  sacraments, 
but  we  cannot  all  do  all  things.  On  those  impious  men,  however, 
who  in  their  obstinate  tyranny  press  on  us  their  own  teachings 
as  if  they  were  God's,  I  thrust  these  things  freely  and  con- 
fidently, caring  not  at  all  for  their  ignorance  and  violence.  And 
yet  even  to   them  I  will  wish   sounder  sense,  and  will   not 


THE    BABYLONISH    CAPTIVITY  245 

despise   their    efforts,   but    will    only   distinguish   them   from 
those  which  are  legitimate  and  really  Christian. 

T  hear  a  report  that  fresh  bulls  and  papal  curses  are  being- 
prepared  against  me,  by  which  I  am  to  be  urged  to  recant, 
or  else  oe  declared  a  heretic.  If  this  is  true,  I  wish  this  little 
book  to  be  a  part  of  my  future  recantation,  that  they  may  not 
complain  that  their  tyranny  has  puffed  itself  up  in  vain. 
The  remaining  part  I  shall  shortly  publish,  Christ  being  my 
helper,  and  that  of  such  a  sort  as  the  See  of  Rome  has  never 
yet  seen  or  heard,  thus  abundantly  testifying  my  obedience 
in  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.     Amen. 

Hostis  Herodes  impie, 
Christum  venire  quid  times  ? 
Non  arripit  mortalia 
Qui  regna  dat  ccelestia. 


0 


-I 


- 


I* — 

[  JA27'53  qmns     « 

3awy 


NO  23 '53 


